Environment
Paris Climate Change Agreement: UN Opens New Portal
The Union Nations Climate Change Secretariat has inaugurated a new portal to support the Talanoa Dialogue.
The new portal is aimed at encouraging international conversation for countries to check progress and seek increase global ambition to meet the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
A statement signed by UNFCC’s spokesperson, Mr Nick Nuttall said through the portal, all countries and other stakeholders including business, investors, cities, regions and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), would be able to make submissions into the Talanoa Dialogue.
The Dialogue was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference COP23 in Bonn in November 2017, and will run throughout 2018.
The Paris Agreement’s central goal is to keep the global average temperature rise to below 2oC
degrees and as close as possible to 1.5oC.
Nuttall said the dialogue also centered around three central questions of “Where are we, Where do we want to go, and How do we get there”.
He added that countries and non-party stakeholders would be contributing ideas, recommendations and information that could assist the world in taking climate action to the next level.
This according to him is to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Present global ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare societies to resist increasing climate change is not enough to achieve this under the present national climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“The portal is the gateway for the Talanoa Dialogue. It represents the central point for everyone to make their views heard around enhanced ambition.
“I very much welcome the portal because it provides transparency and broadens participation in the dialogue.
“I look forward to many governments and other actors making their submissions via the portal as part of world-wide efforts required for the next level of climate action and ambition,” Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change said.
The Pacific island concept of ‘Talanoa’ was introduced by Fiji, which held the Presidency of the COP23 UN Climate Change Coanference.
It aims at an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue.
It would be recalled that the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, had said Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDC) ambition under Climate Change Accord will cost estimated 142 billion dollars to meet the 2030 target.
The minister said, “the delivery of our NDC will require a fundamental re-orientation of financial flows within the economy.
“It is estimated that Nigeria will require around 142 billion dollars, translating to about 10 billion dollars per annum to meet her NDC target by 2030,” he said.
He said Nigeria had recognised that climate change presented one of the greatest challenges of the world today.
Jibril said Nigeria was partnering with the Lake Chad basin countries to address the challenges of drying up of the lake which would have adverse consequences on the people and the ecosystem.
The Ministry of Environment on Thursday in Abuja, advanced its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, validating a comprehensive plan aimed at tackling climate-related challenges in the country.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Alhaji Mahmud Kambari, said this at the Stakeholders Consultative Workshop on the Development of the concept notes to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for NAP in Nigeria.
Kambari, who was represented by Mrs Victoria Pwol, the Deputy Director in the Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the ministry, said that the workshop is a collective resolve to confront the realities of climate change with purpose, strategy, and coordinated action.
“Over the past years, the Federal Government of Nigeria, with crucial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has made significant progress in advancing the NAP process.
“As a nation, we stand at a critical juncture where climate risks ranging from extreme weather events to environmental degradation continues to threaten our socio-economic stability, food systems, public health, infrastructure, and national development aspirations.
“Through extensive technical work, we have completed a Climate Risk Assessment across all geopolitical and agro-ecological zones, developed an Economic Appraisal, an Adaptation Finance Strategy, and a robust Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.”
Kambari said that these foundational elements now guide Nigeria to identify priority adaptation needs and investment opportunities.
“Let me mention that we are at the tail end of this NAP Formulation Process and looking forward to the implementation phase.
“This workshop therefore serves as a strategic purpose to harmonise perspectives across key MDAs; refine project ideas into strong, evidence-based concept notes.
“It will ensure that proposed interventions align with national priorities and the investment criteria of the GCF and position Nigeria to competitively access the resources required to strengthen resilience across vulnerable sectors,” he said.
Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the Director DCC in the Ministry said that the engagement would enhance achievements by collaboratively developing bankable, climate-resilient concept notes that align with national priorities and meet the GCF’s investment requirements.
Abiola-Awe who was represented by Dr Jonah Barde in the Ministry said that the workshop represented an important step in Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to strengthen climate resilience.
She added that the workshop would advance sustainable development, and mobilise the climate finance needed to safeguard Nigeria’s communities, ecosystems, and economy from the growing impacts of climate change.
Effective communication, transparency, and science-based risk assessments are the cornerstones of Nigeria’s approach to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Mr Bello Bwari, the Director-General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), gave the assurance during a media interaction in Abuja on Friday.
“Where there is communication, you reduce conflict. Effective communication is key, effective engagement with stakeholders is paramount and key to making Nigeria better.
Bwari said anti GMO’s critics keep participants and practitioners on their toes.
“We value them and we expect that their criticisms, suggestions and recommendations will make our operations in the entire spectrum better.
“Where we are not doing so well, we will hear from them, where we can advance explanations, we will advance explanations. Where they are not doing well, we will tell them. We will not run away from doing that.
“But I want to assure you that we are bold enough to face anybody who is not fact-based,” he said.
He reassured that sometime before the end of the second quarter of 2026 there would be a retreat where all stakeholders would be invited.
“And also, the impact we are bringing is going to be measurable by the end of 2026. And going forward, what we do by the end of 2026 will form the basis of our five-year plan.
“There’s a five-year plan which will start at the end of 2026. So, I enjoin the media to please report what you know as a matter of fact, not as a matter of opinion.
“We all have different opinions, but some of our opinions are not facts. From the quality of what I see on papers, reportage, I think largely I’m impressed with what the press is doing in Nigeria so far,” he said.
Bwari stated that Nigerians deserved to understand what NBMA regulates, why they regulate it, and how decisions were made.
“Part of my focus going forward will be strengthening engagement with the media, researchers, policymakers, and the public because regulation works best when it is understood.
“We are not promoters of any technology, and we are not opponents of innovation. We are regulators.
“But at its core, biosafety is about prevention, caution, and preparedness. It is about ensuring that innovation does not outpace safety, and that national development never compromises public health or environmental integrity,” he said.
He promised to uphold the law without fear or favour, communicate more clearly with the public and ensure that every regulatory decision was transparent, evidence-based, and accountable
“NBMA is not an advocacy agency. Our duty is to assess risks, enforce safeguards, and ensure compliance with national and international biosafety standards.I also want to emphasise that public trust matters.
He further urged the media to help Nigerians understand biosafety and biosecurity in a better way.
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