The Nigerian government has reiterated its commitment to scale up Climate Change adaptation, build community resilience and adaptation practices to mitigate and reduce climate change.
Nigeria’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs. Sadiya Umar Farouq, stated this during a side event on “Scaling up Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria” which was organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment at COP 27, taking place in Egypt.
The Minister also expressed the resolve of her ministry to mitigate the impact of Climate Change on vulnerable members of society through the scaling up of climate change adaptation in Nigeria.
“Our communities are composed of the poor, elderly, children and persons living with disabilities. The added effect of climate change has rendered them more vulnerable than they already are. The Minister said.
She noted that the Ministry will work with the Nigerian adaptation plan which seeks to reduce the vulnerability of communities to the impact of Climate Change by building adaptive capacity and resilience.
She further stressed that the plan also advocates the integration of Climate Change adaptation into relevant new and existing policies programmes and activities as well as developing planning processes and strategies.
“The reason we are here today is to harness and discourse good practices programme and strategies that other countries are using to reduce vulnerabilities to climate change” She stated.
“We want to know how to build adaptive capacities and resilience in line with national and international policies and commitment in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation”
“Specifically we want to know how to identify and map out climate change risk better, we harmonise, input and launch a people-centered climate change adaptation in collaboration with key partners like the Federal Ministry of Environment and other relevant Ministry Department and Agencies” The Minister added.
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, quoting the report of the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change, affirmed that by 2050 many coastal megacities like Lagos, Port Harcourt and other coastal cities in Nigeria will in a century witness weather catastrophes every year affecting millions of people and properties.
He said that Nigeria has taken the bold step to develop Adaptation Communication guided by the NAP Global Network.
Abdullahi noted that the adaptation communication will play a central role in identifying National needs and enabling international follow-up while informing future action, driving ambition and contributing information for global stocktaking.
“It is obvious that the challenges of climate change are enormous and since no individual ministry can confront the challenges alone, we are calling for joint and cooperative efforts to tackle the problem, it is therefore pertinent that we begin to take our pledges into action as take away from COP 27”. He said.
Olusola Akintonde
