FG Plans To Train Negotiators On Climate Change

The Federal Ministry of
Environment says it will soon start training negotiators for Nigeria to participate actively at the forthcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris, France later this year.
The Director, Climate Change Department in the ministry, Dr Samuel Adejuwon, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Adejuwon said participating at the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Kyoto Protocol was part of the country’s obligation to fulfill the protocol to address the impact of climate change.
Adejuwon said that the programme of training was part of the ministry’s work plan to build the capacity of its negotiators, to understand climate change issues.
According to him, understanding the issues will help the negotiators protect the country’s economic and political interests at the climate talks.
Similarly, he said that the ministry had engaged the services of international and national consultants, to help the country develop a robust Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
The INDCs under UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), requires every country to be committed to creating a new international climate agreement by the conclusion of Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.
During previous climate negotiations, countries agreed to publicly outline what actions they intend to take to address climate change under a global agreement before the Paris conference.
According to Adejuwon, countries signatory to the UNFCCC are in the process of negotiating a global climate agreement for the post 2020 period, that will be adopted in 2015.
“This agreement will aim to limit the rise of the global average temperature to below two degree centigrade above pre-industrial levels.
“A key component of these negotiations will be the INDCs, or national plans for action on climate change.
“Collectively, these INDCs as requested by UNFCCC from all signatories will form the basis of the global goal to reduce Green House emissions,’’ he said
Adejuwon said that the ministry had inaugurated a technical committee that would draw up the work plan towards the preparation of the INDCs.
“Some items under the work plan include the project incitation workshop, which took place in April; it was an avenue to inform the national stakeholders on steps to develop the INDCs.
“We have met with our consultants both international and national ones, and have created avenue for them to work together to develop the actions and tackle the impact of climate change,’’ he said.
The director, said that the Federal Government would submit its INDCs to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by September.