Abuja, Nigeria – The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi has promised to safeguard future generations through the Climate Promises Initiative.
Abdullahi advised Nigerians to consider the Climate Promises Initiative (CPI II) as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the country to tackle the problems of environment and climate, and raise its socio-economic standing.
Speaking through the Ministry’s Director of Human Resources Management, Mr. Lawrence Adigwe, the Minister described the program’s launch as a proof to the government’s promise to take significant action to reduce the effects of climate change.
“It is a wakeup call for governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals to cooperate and work together towards a common goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, advancing sustainable development, and protecting our planet for future generations,” he said.
While highlighting some of the world’s environmental challenges, such as rising sea levels, droughts, increased food insecurity, and community displacement, Abdullahi stated that he believes the CPI II project represents an important milestone in the country’s efforts to combat this life-threatening disaster.
According to him, the launch marks the start of a journey that would require devotion, teamwork, and ingenuity from everyone involved in meeting Nigeria’s adaptation requirements.
In order to accomplish this and assist Nigeria in meeting its lofty aim set out in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the nation’s environment chieftain noted that sharing ideas, exchanging best practices, and learning from one another are required.
He emphasized some of these prerequisites, such as the necessity to mobilize resources, build skills, and promote an atmosphere that encourages innovation in order to be able to accomplish this challenging goal.
As a result, its success, he noted, will be determined by “our ability to translate promises into concrete actions” that recognize the uneven distribution of the effects of climate change.
The director supervising the office of the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mr. Charles Ikeah, told the participants in his welcome message that with the release of the CPI II, they would be engaged in talks and activities on critical climate change issues.
Mr. Ikeah, who was represented at the event by Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the DCC’s director, who read his speech, hinted that these discussions and activities would focus on strengthening the inclusive agenda, gender-responsive governance, financing mechanisms to enable delivery, and tracking of NDC targets with inclusive policies, strategies, plans, and regulatory frameworks at the national, sectoral, and subnational levels, all with the goal of assuming that the NDC targets are met.
He expressed his gratitude to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), whom he described as the ministry’s partner, for sponsoring and assisting this program and making sure that it was a part of their crucial efforts to address the causes of climate change in Nigeria.
Responding to some of the issues raised by participants, particularly the issue of gender inclusivity, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the director of the DCC, informed them that the CPI II contains some activities centered on gender responsiveness, which she stressed should be taken into account during the implementation process.
The DCC chief gave the group her word that they would be contacted again by the ministerial team working on this project and that she expected them to give their usual full support.
“We anticipate that these initiatives, which are intended to improve domestic activities in Nigeria, will be successful,” she said in her conclusion.
