Environmental Stakeholders Strategise on Enhancing Nigeria’s Carbon Market Transition
Stella Peters
Stakeholders in the nation’s environment sector have met in Abuja to devise strategies for enhancing Nigeria’s transition into a thriving carbon market.
The National Council on Climate Change Secretariat (NCCCS) is organizing a workshop titled 3-Day Stakeholders Engagement on Nigeria’s Carbon Market Policy and Manual of Procedure, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK)government, and others.
Some State Environment Commissioners who spoke to journalists at the workshop on Wednesday welcomed the ongoing Carbon Market Activation Workshop in Abuja, saying it will help them harmonise all activities in terms of carbon financing and credits.
The Niger State Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Yakubu Kolo, said the training has given him enlightenment and in-depth knowledge about Article 6 and how Nigerians can key into it.
He said: “It is expected that we will be able to harmonise all our activities in terms of carbon financing carbon credits and then ensure that we look into all those areas to get alternative funding sources instead of depending on the standard revenue allocation from the federal government.
“The state is looking inward to see how we can leverage this carbon financing by creating green bonds. Then, the State Governor, His Excellency Mohammed Umar Bago, also directed us to try to raise seedlings so that we would be able to produce more seedlings that we could use to regenerate our forests within the states. By doing this, we are sure that this issue of Article 6 will be able to move on and get our resources involved in the issue of the voluntary market.
“Because from what we have been told today, Article 6.2 and then the voluntary carbon market is where the Nigerian government is trying to start its green initiative in refinancing our carbon market.
For his part, the Jigawa State Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change and Chairman of the Commissioners Forum, Dr. Nura Ibrahim Kazaure, said the training will enhance solar projects, afforestation projects, alternative cooking techniques using cookstoves, and many other things being executed in the states.
Kazaure said we really thank the NCCCS for organising such an event and, most importantly, for calling on commissioners to attend.
He said, “We are going to leverage this three-day workshop to take home and start developing apparatus and many methodologies.”
In his comments, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Abubakar Buba, expressed optimism that the training will simplify the subnationals’ access to the carbon market globally.
Earlier, the Director-General of NCCCS, Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, welcomed participants to the training and said the Federal government is very keen to strengthen the federal–state relationship in building a virile carbon market.
She noted that the training catalyzes Nigeria’s transition into a thriving carbon market.
She revealed that the workshop aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to sustainable development, carbon emission reduction, and the attraction of global investments, adding that the seminar seeks to sensitise stakeholders to new policies, regulations, and procedural frameworks; Provide high-level training on carbon market operations and dynamics; Gather stakeholder feedback to refine strategic documents; define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders; and Build capacity of National Designated Authorities (NDAs) for effective oversight and implementation.
