The Minister of Environment and leader of the Nigerian Government Delegation to the Climate Change Conference, Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim Hadiza underscored the need for the whole world not to delay any further on a concrete climate agreement that will lead to remarkable emission cuts.
Mrs Hadiza Mrs Hadiza, at a meeting with the United Kingdom Minister of State for Climate Change, Mr. Gregory Barker at the International Conference Centre in Durban stated that Nigeria has high stakes in terms of loss and damages to the impacts of climate change if there should be a failure at the Durban meeting.
The meeting was part of the series of bilateral talks being held by Nigeria to facilitate broad consultations towards a positive outcome for the Climate Change negotiations.
According to Mailafia, “We have 23% of our Arable land lost to desertification thereby affecting food security while unpredictable pattern of rainfall has subjected a whole region of the country to huge gully erosion. The impacts of climate change in Nigeria are indeed index of insecurity and this is why we are anxious to have positive agreement here, adding, “we must do something here. It is obligatory now more than ever before because disasters are aggravating. Nigeria is witnessing this already as there are floods everywhere and we are also faced with the dumping of electronic waste in our country.
The Minister said Nigeria is working closely with other African nations to ensure the success of the Climate Change Conference in Durban.
During the meeting, UK Minister, Barker solicited further cooperation of Nigeria to use its international influence to get some hard-line countries in the developing countries to back positive climate agreements in Durban.
Barker disclosed that as part of United Kingdom’s commitment to international efforts at fighting climate change, the country would announce its voluntary donation to the Adaptation Fund today.
He also announced a UK vote of 2.9billion pounds to aid adaptation projects in the developing countries with a 150million pounds announced as UK support for low emission urban Transportation system in Nigeria.
