Abuja — Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said Nigeria would play her part in the formulation of global policies on climate change.

Ekweremadu said Nigeria would actively participate at the World Conference on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December, this year.

He stated these when he received in audience in Abuja a delegation of Swedish members of parliament led by the Second Deputy Speaker, Ms. Birgitt Sennel.

He said Nigeria 's position, as the sixth largest producer of crude oil, had made it imperative that it should be at the conference where the Kyoto protocol was expected to be signed.

According to him, "Nigeria will definitely play its part in the formulation of policies on climate change. Because the decision that will be taken at the meeting will affect us, not just because we are part of the global world, but because as the world sixth largest producer of crude oil, the decisions of that meeting will surely reflect on the production of largest single revenue earner for the country.

"Nigeria is a key OPEC member with attendant environmental challenges which make it expedient for Nigeria to play a key role in the December summit. Nigeria will be fully represented and my hope is that Nigeria and Sweden will maintain a common position on climate change at the Summit.

"The office in charge of that is the Ministry of Environment; and, the Minister there is very, very effective. They are preparing hard and we are sure that the contribution of Nigeria will be something to look forward to.

"The issue of desertification and erosion is a major challenge which Nigeria would join the rest of the world in discussing at Copenhagen."

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to Ekweremadu on Media, Paul Odenyi, quoted him (Ekweremadu) to have said "Nigeria would like to afford more women opportunities to play active roles in government and politics like you people in Sweden."