VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has said that Africa bears the brunt of climate change despite being the least responsible for carbon emissions globally.
The Vice President spoke at the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, November 14.
Osinbajo noted that African countries were doing little or nothing to mitigate the effects of global warming, which he said has become an issue of great concern.
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“We must continue to call for a just transition that enables us to use our abundant resources to meet our energy needs especially electricity and cooking.
“This would enable us secure investment in natural gas as well as renewable forms of energy”, he said.
The Vice President disclosed that Nigeria will continue to collaborate with G77 and key climate partners on the issues of losses, compensation and damage.
“This is essentially requiring that those who cause climate change and the greatest emittors should also pay to help those of us who are least emitters in the challenges of climate change.
“This matter is on the table at COP27 and it should be pursued to its logical conclusion of securing additional finance for developing economies.”
He reiterated that transition to green energy would unlock the potential of the carbon market in Nigeria.
“It has been estimated that Nigeria could produce more than thirty million tonnes of carbon credit annually by 2030 and bring in more than fifty million dollars annually.
“A future of the green economy is one that must be taken seriously. There is no reason why we should not take advantage of renewable energy,” he said.
Osinbajo further stressed the need for Nigeria to focus more on productivity and value addition to create employment opportunities and generate more tax revenue.
“To increase productivity, we must free up our environment for business.
“We must create an environment for business to make local and international trade easier by fixing our ports, revamping our custom processes and tariff codes to reduce delay and arbitrariness, and by removing the needless restriction on imports to enable value-added processes,” the Vice President said.
Stories with punches holding the powerful accountable. His determination to speak out against corruption and influence the conversation in Nigeria, the surrounding region and the continent inspires him.