Nigeria, others need $150bn annually to combat climate change

African countries, including Nigeria, require about $150 billion annually to combat the effect of climate change, the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, Eziuche Ubani, has said.

Mr. Ubani also said that Nigeria and other developing countries under the aegis of G77 are demanding for compensation from United States (US), Britain, China and other industrialized countries commensurate compensation for years of greenhouse emission that have depleted the ozone layer and resulted into climate change.

He stated this at a press conference at the weekend ahead of the conference on climate change which kicks off today in Copenhagen, Denmark.

About 98 heads of state and government have reportedly indicated their intention to attend the event.

Mr. Ubani, who gave the update of the negotiation by the Nigerian delegation, argued that though the industrialized nations cannot be forced to compensate the poor nations for the degradation of their environment, since the bulk of the fault was caused by industrialized nations like United States of America , Britain and some European Union countries, that they are under a moral burden to take responsibility for the catastrophic effects of climate change on the developing countries.

He said that the compensation being sought for would be used to solve the problems associated with the climate change in the developing world.

The lawmaker explained that the G77 countries had at various occasions resolved to canvass for a replacement of the Clean Development Mechanism due to the encumbrances with a new treaty, noting that most of the developing countries have no access to the fund provided under the initiative.

He noted that Africa was not represented on the Board of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change thereby making it difficult for the developing countries to have access to the fund.

“We are in dire need of funding and that is why Nigeria will be asking for compensation for years of environmental degradation - funding to combat desertification, funding to combat flooding, funding to combat pollution and funding to deal with the rising sea,” Mr. Ubani said.

He said that issues of rising temperature, desert encroachment, flooding due to warming of the seas, and oil pollution would be on the front burner at the Copenhagen conference.

He insisted that there is a need for Nigeria to put in place the required mechanism and legislative framework if Nigeria is to effectively guard against the effect of climate change.

Alternative energy

Mr. Ubani pointed out that Nigeria would be mostly affected by the effect of climate change especially in the area of agricultural produce, and dependence on rain-fed agriculture as well as shift towards the use of renewable energy in various sectors of the nation’s economy.

He noted that there is a need for the federal, state and local governments across the country to put necessary measures in place, with the view to reduce the impact of climate change in the country disclosed that 11 frontline states namely Sokoto, Katsina, Borno, Gombe, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe, Kano, Bauchi and Adamawa would be affected by drought in 2010.

Mr. Ubani said investors in alternative and renewable energy should be encouraged by the federal government in order to cut down of carbon emissions.

“There is a lot of work that we need to do internally; the Federal Government is trying to move away from the carbon regime to renewable energy but we need to be sure that we have a plan of action that takes cognizance of targets within a reasonable period of time,” he said.