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  HomeCentre for Climate Change & Development - Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State  |  Blog/News
Prof. Chuwumerije Okereke
Author cccd_admin Categories Blog/News, NDC Blog Posts

Experts To Aanalyse Climate Change Act’s Role In Catalysing Climate Finance Flow In Nigeria

The Society for Planet Prosperity (SPP) in conjunction with GCA Capital Partners is organising a webinar on “The role of Climate Change Act in Catalysing Climate Finance in Nigeria”.

The aim of the webinar is to share experts’ opinions on different ways through which the National Climate Change Act, of which the implementation has recently started with the inauguration of the National Climate Change Council (NCCC) and the appointment of a Director General, could work strategically to mobilise significant resources towards the delivery of these far-reaching green investment objectives in Nigeria.

For Nigeria and many other developing countries, the lack of finance represents one of the most formidable barriers to fast tracking action on climate change and achieving a green transition within their jurisdictions. In the run up to COP26, Nigeria presented a revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) with a set of investment actions valued at $177 billion. The country’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) adopted in January 2022 by the Federal Executive Council and on which President Buhari’s net zero carbon pledge by 2060 at COP26 was anchored, suggests an investment of $410 billion by 2060 for Nigeria to meet its carbon neutrality pledge.

Meanwhile a combination of top-down and bottom-up analyses undertaken by UNEP indicates the demand for additional sustainable investment in Nigeria could be a cumulative $92 billion up till 2030. For a country with a high rate of poverty, a debt of $92.75 billion (and rising), and a less than impressive experience with attracting international climate finance, achieving this scale of investment represents quite a challenge. The passing of the Climate Change Bill, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, President of Society for Planet and Prosperity and Director, Centre for Climate Change and Development, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, has teamed up with Mr Obi Ugochuku, CEO, GCA Capital Partners, to undertake an analysis of the various ways through which the National Climate Council can leverage the provisions of the Climate Change Act to Catalysing Climate Finance in the Country.

Professor Okereke led the technical team constituted by the Speaker of the Federal House of Rep, Femi Gbajabiamilla, to review the Climate Change Bill. Mr Obi Ugochuku is a foremost climate finance expert who led the process that resulted in the issuance of the first and second sovereign green bonds for Nigeria. Dr Eugene Itua of National Eco Capital will be the discussant.

The webinar will present the key findings of the report (which will also be released immediately after the webinar).

Evidence from the GCF shows that Nigeria has only been able to mobilise $118 million from the Green Climate Fund, compared to South Africa’s $600 million. South Africa recently set a record at COP26 when it announced that it had reached an agreement with a consortium of donor countries to receive $8.5 billion to support her energy transition and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Similarly, with Morocco, the issuance of domestic corporate bonds has been active, reaching a total of $550 million. This maybe attributable to the size of the South Africa market for green instruments but also to proactivity and acting strategically.

The report shows that the Council can leverage several aspects of the Act to expand the flow of climate and green finance in Nigeria. COP27 is around the corner, Nigeria must not attend merely to make commitments that it will struggle to fulfill with limited or no strategy for mobilising finance. With the devastating impact of climate change in Nigeria so evidently demonstrated by the unprecedent flooding events in the country, it is time to put in place a robust and long-term plan to enhance climate mobilisation to underwrite green and climate resilient investment for Nigeria.

The webinar, which will take place on Friday, November 4, via zoom, from 4.30pm to 6pm, will feature Mr Obi Ugochuku, as a panelist, Dr. Eugene Itua and Olugbolahan Mark-George (Climate Finance Advisor to the Government) as discussants, while Samuel Onuigbo (Rep Member) and Dr. Salisu Dahiru, the Director-General, National Council on Climate Change, as special guests of honour. Prof. Okereke will moderate the session.

By Chinedu Nwasum

Author cccd_admin Categories Blog/News

Groups to organise a webinar on the Potential Role of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act in Catalyzing Climate Finance in the Country

by Chinedu Nwasum.

The Society for Planet Prosperity in conjunction with GCA Capital Partners is organizing a webinar on the role of Climate Change Act in catalyzing climate finance in Nigeria.

The aim of the webinar is to share experts’ opinions on different ways through which the National Climate Change Act of which the implementation has recently started with the inauguration of the National Climate Change Council (NCCC) and the appointment of a Director General could work strategically to mobilize significant resources towards the delivery of these far-reaching green investment objectives in Nigeria.

For Nigeria and many other developing countries, the lack of finance represents one of the most formidable barriers to fast tracking action on climate change and achieving a green transition within their jurisdictions. In the run up to COP26 Nigeria presented a revised Nationally Determined Contribu1tions (NDC) with a set of investment actions valued at USD177 billion. The country’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) adopted in January 2022 by the Federal Executive Council and on which President Buhari’s net zero carbon pledge by 2060 at COP26 was anchored, suggests an investment of USD410 billion by 2060 for Nigeria to meet its carbon neutrality pledge. Meanwhile a combination of top-down and bottom-up analyses undertaken by UNEP indicates the demand for additional sustainable investment in Nigeria could be a cumulative US$92 billion up till 2030. For a country with a high rate of poverty, a debt of $92.75 billion (and rising), and a less than impressive experience with attracting international climate finance, achieving this scale of investment represents quite a challenge. The passing of the Climate Change Bill,

Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, President of Society for Planet and Prosperity and Director Center for Climate Change and Development, Alex Ekwueme federal University has teamed up with Mr Obi Ugochuku, CEO GCA Capital Partners to undertake an analysis of the various ways through which the National Climate Council can leverage the provisions of the Climate Change Act to Catalyzing Climate Finance in the Country. Professor Okereke led the technical team constituted by the Hon Speaker of the Federal House of Rep, hon Femi Gbajabiamilla to review the Climate Change Bill. Mr Obi Ugochuku is a foremost climate finance expert who led the process the resulted in the issuance of the first and second sovereign green bonds for Nigeria. Dr Eugene Itua of National Eco Capital will be the discussant.

The webinar will present the key findings of the report (which will also be released immediately after the webinar).

Evidence from the GCF shows that Nigeria has only been able to mobilize USD118m from the green climate fund, compared to South Africa’s USD600m. South Africa recently set a record at COP26 when it announced that it had reached an agreement with a consortium of donor countries to receive US$8.5 billion to support her energy transition and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Similarly, with Morocco, the issuance of domestic corporate bonds has been active reaching a total of USD550m. This maybe attributable to the size of the South Africa market for green instruments but also to proactivity and acting strategically.

The report shows that the Council can leverage several aspects of the Act to expand the flow of climate and green finance in Nigeria. COP27 is around the corner, Nigeria must not attend merely to make commitments that it will struggle to fulfill with limited or no strategy for mobilizing finance. With the devastating impact of climate change in Nigeria so evidently demonstrated by the unprecedent flooding events in the country, it is time to put in place a robust and long-term plan to enhance climate mobilization to underwrite green and climate resilient investment for Nigeria.

The webinar which will take place on Friday, 4th November, via zoom, from 4.30pm to 6pm, will feature Mr Obi Ugochuku, as a panelist, Dr. Eugene Itua and Olugbolahan Mark-George

(Climate Finance Advisor to the Government) as discussants, while Hon. Samuel Onuigbo (Rep Member) and Dr. Salisu Mohammed Dahiru the Director General National Council on Climate Change as special guests of honour.

Please use this link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86182246179?pwd=bGZsSTlFNmk1NngwL2FNcUd1S2VUZz09

Meeting ID: 861 8224 6179
Passcode: 51670

green recovery and transition in Nigeria
Author cccd_admin Categories Blog/News, NDC Blog Posts

Policymakers review analysis for green recovery and transition in Nigeria’s agriculture, energy sectors

Researchers and high-level representatives from relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, convened for a lunch meeting in Abuja to review an economic analysis of inclusive green recovery and transition opportunities in Nigeria’s agriculture and energy sector.

The policy brief, commissioned by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and funded by the Danish Government, is aimed at supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria’s efforts towards the fulfilment of its objective to achieve economic recovery and green growth in the energy and agriculture sectors.

The policy analysis, credited to Robert Onyeneke, Chukwumerije Okereke and Chukwuemeka Emenekwe, shows the costs and benefits as it relates to the environment, health, and employment opportunities in Nigeria’s agriculture and energy sectors.

Opening the meeting, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, the Principal Investigator and the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development (DCCC) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, said: “The impact of climate change is felt in all sectors; if you take the agricultural sector for example, of the five key staple crops consumed in Nigeria: maize, cassava, millet, sorghum and yam, climate change will negatively affect all of them, in some cases causing up to 70% decrease crop yield.

“This is a looming disaster and almost an existential threat because up to 70% of Nigerians depend on agriculture for their livelihood and the agricultural sector accounts for roughly 26% of our GDP. If we think outside of the box, we can explore ways to act on climate change and recover from the COVID-19 in ways that boost our economic growth. Nigeria has many things going for it and there is a need to identify those opportunities and capitalise on them,” he explained.

Nigeria’s agriculture, energy sectorsAlso commending the efforts of the researchers and re-emphasising the need for such policy analysis to inform the government’s direction, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the Director of the Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment, commented that “this policy analysis is timely, closely following the establishment of Nigeria’s Climate Change Council. The outcomes from this engagement will also strengthen Nigeria’s position during COP27 in Egypt.”

She also appreciated the Danish Government for providing the fund and thanked other ministries for their corporation.

Some analysed options in the energy sector as shared in the analysis include: providing five million off-grid households and SMEs with solar power; providing off-grid solar power supply to seven federal universities and seven university teaching hospitals across Nigeria; substituting 30 million homes cooking with dirty fuels traditional biomass to LPG; and moving 7.3 million households currently cooking with traditional biomass to improved cookstoves.

Under the agriculture sector, analysis options show the possibility of achieving intermittent aeration of rice paddy fields (~50% of total) in the systems of rice management through intensification; increasing the national cattle herd growth rate from the current 1.5% growth rate to 3.3% per annum using sustainable/intensive management methods in the area of sustainable cattle production (SCP) and improved natural forest management at about 128,528 ha of natural forests in the area of sustainable forest and land management (SFLM). The main outcomes analysed showed the contribution of each Initiative through economic, environmental and employment lenses.

The policymakers’ recommendations included a need for similar modelling focusing on gas. There was also a call for scaling up this analysis to cover other NDC sectors, model large-scaled surveys and design state-level analysis, as well as spotlight the private sector’s potential and leveraging opportunities.

Some of those in attendance included representatives from the World Resources Institute, the Embassy of Denmark in Nigeria, and officers from departments and agencies under various federal ministries including the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry of Power, Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

By ‘Seyifunmi Adebote

(this was first published by Environews)

Prof. Chukwumerije
Author cccd_admin Categories Blog/News, Image Gallery

Govt requires clear policies to achieve 50% emission reduction by 2050 – Okereke

Leed, Nigeria, Deep Decarbonisation Pathways (DDP) project, Prof Chukwumerije Okereke, says that Nigeria requires clear, quantifiable policies to achieve 50 per cent emission reduction by 2050.

Okereke said this in an interview on the sidelines of a webinar on Nigeria’s Long–Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS), monitored in Lagos.

The theme of the webinar is “Understanding Nigeria’s Long- Term Vision 2050 (LTV 2050) and the Elaboration of the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS)”.

Okereke said that the LT-LEDS were strategies used by countries all over the world to plan how they can achieve economic development thereby reducing emissions across all sectors of the economy.

According to him, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), talks about emission reduction up on to 2030.

“Generally, the LT-LEDS thinks about emission reduction up on to 2050.

“The Nigerian Government wanted to do an LT-LEDS, but because they did not have the modeling tools and capabilities and because of the brevity of time, decided to do a Long Term Vision (LTV).

“The LTV describes the future whereby 2050/2060, Nigeria will be a circular economy, well developed and will have a robust climate resilience systems, where emissions will be very low, down by 50 per cent,” he said.

He said that the LE-LEDS provides a clearly defined; quantifiable, measureable, analytically robust and rigorous pathway through which the LTV could be achieved in 2050.

Speaking on ways to key into the vision of the LTV, Okereke said that climate change affects everyone and people could play a part in all sorts of different ways.

“If you recycle waste, if you reuse, if you plant trees, if you use solar panels, if you walk instead of driving; all of these things are ways of minimising the generation of emissions by individuals.

“If you switch off your generators when you don’t need them, practice organic farming; they all reduce wastes and emissions, so these are the things that individuals can do.

“The other things individuals can do is in terms of their eating pattern, because a lot of emissions come from cows; so people who eat vegetarian diets tend also to reduce their carbon footprint,” Okereke said.

He said that large scale emissions come from industrial deforestation, gas flaring, haulage, shipping, aviation and transportation.

Okereke said that the task before the government was to come up with robust policies and implement them to help individuals to always take action to reduce their emissions.

According to him,  the job of the LT-LEDS is to show what kind of actions, policies and investments that government and individuals can make to reduce emissions.

“Part of the problems with the country is that we throw policies around without costing them; they don’t have a good understanding of the economics of the policies.

“The environmental, economic and social benefits of those policies should be quantified.

“The LT-LEDS have to quantify some of these policies and show in a clear way how these actions and measures can be taken to achieve our ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2050,” Okereke said.

On the position of Nigeria as an oil producing country vis-à-vis its vision at decarbonisation and net zero emissions, Okereke said that Nigeria is in a difficult condition as it relates to climate change.

He said that Nigeria, as an oil dependent state earns about 85-87 per cent of its foreign exchange from oil.

He said that with the global transitioning to green growth, many countries are making efforts to wean themselves out of oil

“This means that long-term future value of oil may crash and Nigeria may cease to gain less from the extraction and sale of oil.

“At the same time, Nigeria is very vulnerable to climate change, so it needs to act quickly to build economic resilience.

“If more nations move away from oil as we envisage and rigorous ambitious climate policies are enacted across the nations, that is going to be catastrophic for Nigeria because of the dwindling resources and massive unemployment that will result,” Okereke said.

The professor said that Nigeria has a comparative advantage in wind and solar resources which the country can annex to its advantage.

He said that to annex renewable energy, the country requires the political will and the right caliber of people to make it happen.

“What is required is the 5Ps, People, Policy, Plan, Platform and Politics, without this, you just talk and talk and nothing happens,” Okereke said.

Earlier, Dr Salisu Dahiru, the Director-General, National Climate Change Commission, commended Okereke for his presentation.

Dahiru also expressed gratitude to President Mohammadu Buhari for his wisdom in resuscitating the Act and believing in the ability of the commission to deliver on its mandate.

By Fabian Ekeruche

….first published in Environews

Society for Planet Prosperity
Author cccd_admin Categories Blog/News, Image Gallery

Group Seeks Experts’ Opinion On Top 10 Net Zero Measures In Nigeria

The Society for Planet Prosperity is seeking expert input and opinion on the top 10 net zero measures for Nigeria and their sustainable development co-benefits.

The top ten measures to net-zero project is aimed at identifying 10 key steps and decisions that if taken in the next 5 years will enable Nigeria to meet the government’s 2060 net zero objective while also supporting the sustainable development of the country.

The project involves going through all the policy documents the country has produced in the last 10 years, including the NDCs, the Energy Transition Plan, the Mid-term Development Plan, the Long-term Vision, and the National Recovery Plan and identify several interesting measures that can help Nigeria, achieve its Long-term Climate goals.

The specific aim is to map 10 key steps and decisions that if taken in the next 5 years will underpin a socio-economic transformation required to enable Nigeria to meet the government’s 2060 net zero objective. The project presents these steps and decisions in a format that is accessible to a wider public through communication materials that can stimulate and inform a wider public debate.

The outputs are intended to support Nigerian stakeholders including policy makers, businesses, civil society organizations, and international development partners and crucially the general public, in moving this important issue out of the confines of expert debate and furthering societal debate about climate choices, regardless of people’s political perspective.

In view of this, we are seeking expert input for our questionnaire on the top net zero measures for Nigeria and their sustainable development co-benefits. Kindly fill this 5-minute questionnaire on or before Friday the 12th of August if you’re an expert in the following sectors:

Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU)

Industry and Housing

Oil and Gas

Power

Transport

Waste

Water

Click this link to fill the questionnaire: https://forms.gle/qhFJwuVDGzdQi5Az7

Recall that the top 10 net zero measures project was launched recently in Abuja followed by stakeholders’ engagement which attracted different key and relevant stakeholders in seven identified sectors relevant to the project.

The Top 10 measures for Nigeria to reach net zero project is funded by the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and is being implemented by Society for Planet Prosperity over 10 months.

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