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Nigeria: FG On Alert for Climatic Disasters - Kingibe
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Vanguard (Lagos)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Emmanuel Aziken
The Federal Government will take anticipatory measures towards averting climatic disasters that have recently ravaged other lands, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe has said. Kingibe gave the commitment as the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology expressed concern that the country could lose billions of dollars from the diversion of direct foreign investments from the country on account of climatic problems.
They spoke at a public hearing on a bill to establish the National Climate Change Commission at the National Assembly in Abuja yesterday.
However strong opposition to the bill was expressed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which lamented that its implementation could lead to double taxation for electricity generating companies.
"This public hearing is indeed timely, holding as it is at a time when several nations around the world are developing their policies and strategies at mitigating the impact of climate change on their social and economic life.
"There now appears to be a universal consensus that climate change is a natural phenomenon that has to be accepted and planned for by all nations, the failure to do which will hasten on a global scale, the calamity and disaster now afflicting only a few countries as we have seen in recent times," Kingibe said.
In her welcome address at the hearing, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Bent, expressed concern about the possible loss of billions of dollars if Nigeria fails in responding to climatic changes now ravaging some parts of the world.
"Nigeria and Africa as a whole are losing out on billions of dollars that would have been directed at inflow of capital investment."
Nigeria will do well to position herself to benefit from infrastructure, environmental protection and sustainability projects as she begins to implement these mechanisms.
"Economic and human activities of the rich industrialised countries have been identified as the main causes of climate change. Recent data show that over seven billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted through fossil fuels use globally and over 1.6 billion tones are emitted during deforestation for land use, " she said.
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In his presentation yesterday, the Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Ransome Owan expressed concern that the bill could lead to double taxation for electricity generating companies. He thus suggested exemptions for electricity generating, transmitting, distributing, marketing and trading companies.
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