Nigerian government and French Development Agency have reiterated commitment to strengthening their cooperation to promote climate action and the low carbon economic development in the country.
The commitment was made when the new Country-Director of the agency, Mr Xavier Muron, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for the Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, in Abuja.
Muron said the visit was to discuss the agency`s strategies and priorities for climate action in Nigeria, based on the just concluded COP-26 and the commitment of Nigeria in this regard.
He also said the meeting was intended to provide an opportunity to discuss the upcoming launch of the Nigeria Deep De-carbonisation Project (DDP Nigeria) scheduled to hold in Abuja soon.
The country director noted that the agency was already funding and collaborating with the ministry on several high-impact environmental projects, including waste management, biodiversity conservation, urban development, power transmission, and off-grid capacity development.
He said that some of the projects were already ongoing while some were in the pipeline.
“I was excited about the Nigeria Deep De-carbonisation Project, which is a national research and capacity building project for the implementation of a Deep De-carbonisation Pathway Programme (DDPP) in Nigeria.
“The project is funded by the agency (Agency Française de Dévelopment), (AFD) with the International Relations and Sustainable Development Institute (IDDRI) as the Programme Coordinator.
“The project is done in collaboration with the ministry under a framework established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the federal government and the AFD signed in December 2020.
“The key objective of the DPP Nigeria is to mobilise and reinforce the capacities of local teams of experts and researchers in Nigeria.
“The effort is to be able to produce country studies analysing de-carbonisation scenarios and low-emission development pathways,’’ he said.
Responding, Ikeazor thanked the agency for their visit and for both their current and prospective funding support to help Nigeria tackle climate change and related environmental challenges.
She said the ministry was determined to tackle the myriads of challenges posed on climate change with the support of both national and international cooperation.
She said it was evident through the ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), recently submitted by Nigeria that drastic measures are required in the areas of climate mitigation.
“Drastic measure which is also required to enhance the adaptive capacity of Nigeria to protect the country from the negative impact of climate change.
“The ministry is fully aware of the imperative of energy transition for the country and is already working in close collaboration with other relevant ministries and agencies.
“The effort is to facilitate the financing and implementation of the Energy Transition Plan of the government.
“The analysis that will be done under the Nigerian Deep De-carbonisation project will complement the scenarios of work done in the Energy Transition Plan.
“This will make the country have a rich menu of options for pursuing her de-carbonisation agenda with a clear understanding of the implications the various de-carbonisation options and pathways.
The minister said she was looking forward to hosting the participants in the launch to present the DDP project to the larger community of stakeholders “as well as to begin the conversation on the scenarios and modeling options that can help Nigeria achieve her stated long-term climate objectives including the goal of net-zero emission by 2060″.
