NSIA, Climate Change Council sign MoU to address climate risks, boost climate action agenda
By Business A.M.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the development of Nigeria’s climate change framework and provide guidelines to address climate risks and boost the country’s climate action agenda.
It also serves to allow the signing parties to further explore potential areas of collaboration which include, management of a national carbon registry; development and implementation of climate-sensitive projects across all sectors; attainment of the shared objectives between both organisations;and institutionalizing climate change in Nigeria’s development agenda.
Commenting on the agreement, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, the managing director and chief executive officer of the NSIA, said a core pillar of the authority’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy is to actively build strategic partnerships with relevant organizations to support climate change actions and Nigeria’s energy transition ambitions of achieving net zero emissions by 2060.
“The agreement with our partner, NCCC is one of the strategic steps we are taking to meet our social impact goals and sustainability commitments,” he said.
Umar-Sadiq stressed that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the planet today, and Nigeria is not immune to its devastating effects.
“We have seen first-hand the impact of climate change from extreme weather events to floods and declining agricultural yields, which have led to the loss of lives and property, as well as severe economic hardship for our people. The need to act decisively and urgently has never been more apparent,” he said.
The NSIA MD said the collaboration with NCCC will span a range of areas, including development of Nigeria’s climate change framework, guidelines for the regulation of carbon emissions, development of a national carbon registry and a carbon emissions trading mechanism.
“By collaborating with the National Council on Climate Change, we demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding our natural resources, protecting vulnerable communities, and fostering a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy,” he noted.
On his part, Salisu Dahiru, the director general of the NCCC, remarked that the partnership between the two flagship institutions is a bold signal to the global audience that the Nigerian government is serious about its climate commitments.
“By committing resources from its sovereign wealth fund to support climate action and an inclusive green economic growth, Nigeria is investing in its future, especially in a vastly decarbonizing world. This partnership between two of Nigeria’s flagship institutions is expected to catalyze private finance to accelerate Nigeria’s ambitious climate and national development agenda,” he said.
The NCCC DG commended the transformational leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari by demonstrating executive ownership of Nigeria’s climate policies through the Climate Change Act of 2021, the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change and the commitment toward a net zero economy by 2060.
He also encouraged Nigerians to embrace the opportunities offered by climate change to build a resilient economy and improve the adaptive capacities of our communities to extreme weather events, now and in the future.