1 October 2007
Abuja — The Minister of Environment, Housing & Urban Development, Hajiya HalimaTayo Alao said that it is interesting to note that the whole of Africa is responsible for only three percent of world emissions.
The minister who stated this on her arrival from the UN general assembly on climate change summit last week, said that Nigeria believes that the developed world should act more decisively to check emissions.
She said that Nigeria is already involved in one clean development mechanism at the NAOC Gas Capture Plant at Kwale Opai as part of its commitment to Kyoto, adding that Nigeria has brought climate change into the mainstream of government, hence the Gleneagles Dialogue and the coming Informal Assembly on climate change in New York at the highest levels.
'Nigeria remains a responsible and responsive member of the International Community and will continue to actively pursue all means of ensuring sustainable and safe use of environmental resources. In the spirit of representative democracy, it is pleasing to note that Nigeria's legislative arm has inaugurated its committee on environment and ecology with a pledge to ensure maximum compliance with environmental standards'.
Hajiya Halima said that development of Renewable Energy Resources in terms of manpower and technologies was at the front burner in the meeting of ministers of Environment, from nineteen countries, United Nations Agencies and Development Banks from Europe, Asia and African met in the German capital, Berlin last week.
The meeting, which was held under the auspices of the G-8 Gleneagles Dialogue on climate change decision makers in the environment sector, dwelt on the need to shift away from green house gas producing technology in energy generation especially in heavy industry and transport.
Stressing the need to control the use of fossil based non-renewable energy sources, she said that delegates which included the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Bruntland, who is also a UN Special Envoy on Climate Change called for greater movement to the Kyoto Protocol.
'The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 acceded to by 161 countries became operational when Russia signed in 1997, calls for a reduction in green-house gas emissions by industrialized nations by five percent to fall to 1990 levels by 2012. The United States and Australia are major non-signatories to the Protocol. Despite the existence of three market based mechanisms to help in lowering emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, hydroflourocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride, real attempts at compliance are very few and weak'.
She added that delegates at Gleneagles Dialogue agreed in principle to work towards a low carbon econo-my which can rid the world of poverty and save the climate. The need to go beyond rhetoric cannot be overstated if mankind particularly Africa, is to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing poverty by 50% by the year 2015.
According to her, the International Panel on Climate Change had said that the sea levels rose by 25 cm in the last century. Imagine a rise of 100cm in the current century; it could lead to the submergence one fifth of Bangladesh, she added.
The minister said that in Nigeria, Lagos Bar Beach is under serious threat with choice properties and employment about to overwhelm by the surging Atlantic, adding that with the leadership of President Yar'Adua land, water people, flora and fauna can be better managed.
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