The presidential candidate of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recently came under attack for saying that the West must finance climate actions in Nigeria before he would take action if elected president.
The APC presidential candidate stated this while responding to a question about his plans to tackle climate change at the Arewa House in Kaduna.
Most of those who criticised the presidential candidate claimed he was ignorant of how climate financing works. But checks by Nairametrics indicate otherwise.
Here is what you should know
Climate financing is the responsibility of developed countries to help developing countries like Nigeria to overcome the challenges of climate change.
Data from the 2022 African Economic Outlook by the African Development Bank (AfDB) shows that the total climate finance due to Africa is estimated at between $4.76 trillion to $4.84 trillion from 2022 to 2050. This represents an annual inflow of between $163.4 billion to $173 billion.
It is instructive to understand that there is a strong correlation between GDP per capita and climate change. And if climate financing is not provided to Africans who are already suffering disproportionately from the effects of climate change, then the situation could get worse. The African continent needs this climate financing to build climate resilience to withstand the effects of climate change.
Current realities you should know
At the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries. The funds mobilised were to be used for meaningful mitigation actions against the effects of climate change in Africa. The pledge is yet to be fulfilled.
- In October 2022, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina reported the call that Africa urgently needs climate financing commitments from developed countries. He said:
- “Africa is suffering what it didn’t cause. The developed world, a long time ago, promised $100 billion a year in support of climate finance for developing countries. What we get now is a lot of talks and zero financing. It’s time to pay up because Africa is suffering tremendously from the impact of climate change. It’s Africa’s COP, so let’s deal with Africa’s problems by putting the money on the table.”
- Earlier, the AfDB suggested in a report seen by Nairametrics that the $100 billion commitment should be distinct from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments and funding from multilateral development banks (MDBs) and instead be treated as new or additional financing.
Bottomline
The AfDB projects the following for Nigeria’s climate change struggle;
- Nigeria will need about $247 billion between 2020 and 2030 to tackle climate change
- Nigeria’s transition to low carbon highlights the plight facing the country’s oil sector and energy infrastructure. Oil and gas account for more than 85% of exports and about half of the revenues. Eliminating fossil fuels will act as a drag on the transition to higher income but provides a chance for inclusive and green development.
- The revised NDC 2021 to 2030 and National Adaptation Plan 2021 set emission targets for 2030 at 453 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq), around half the level forecast in 2015. This is a 2.6% annual increase, with total financing estimated at $177 billion.
The way the APC presidential candidate said it was as if Africa doesn’t adhere to climate change precautions, Africa will not be affected by disasters caused by the same climate change. From what Akinwumi is saying, Africa is suffering a lot from it