The government of Nigeria and the French Development Agency, Agence Française de Dévelopment (AFD), have reaffirmed their commitment to work together to promote climate action and low-carbon economic growth in Nigeria.
This agreement was made during a courtesy visit by the FDA’s new Country Director, Mr. Xavier Muron, to the Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, at her Abuja office.
Muron stated that the purpose of the visit was to examine AFD strategies and objectives for climate action in Nigeria, particularly in light of the just ended COP26 and Nigeria’s commitment in this regard.
He also stated that the meeting was held to discuss the forthcoming launch of the Nigeria Deep Water Port.
In the coming week, the Decarbonisation Project (DDP Nigeria) will be held in Abuja.
AFD was already funding and collaborating with the ministry on several high-impact projects in waste management, biodiversity conservation, urban development, power transmission, and off-grid capacity development, according to the country director.
Some of them, he said, are already underway, while others are in the works.
Muron expressed his enthusiasm for the Nigeria Deep Decarbonisation Project, a national research and capacity-building project for the implementation of a Deep Decarbonisation Pathway Programme (DDPP) in Nigeria, which is funded by the AFD and coordinated by the International Relation and Sustainable Development Institute (IDDRI).
The project is being carried out in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment, under the scope of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in December 2020 between the federal government and the AFD.
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The DPP Nigeria’s main goal is to mobilize and strengthen local expert and research teams in Nigeria so that they can create country studies examining decarbonization scenarios and low-emission development paths.
The DDP is directed by the Centre for Climate Change and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, with research colleagues from numerous universities around the country.
The National Project leader for DDP Nigeria, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, who is the Director of the Centre for Climate Change at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State, said he was excited that the DDP Nigeria would build the capacity of Nigeria to develop scenarios produce robust quantitative models that can help guide Nigeria’s long term low emission development.
Responding, the minister thanked the AFD for their visit and for both their current funded projects to help Nigeria tackle climate change and related environmental challenges.
She said the ministry is determined to tackle the myriads of challenges posed by climate change with the support of both national and international cooperation.
