Why Nigeria, others must take realistic approach to climate change – Edun

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Tuesday said Nigeria and other developing economies must take a realistic approach to climate change management.

Mr Edun made this known Tuesday while speaking at a G-24 press briefing held at the ongoing World Bank/IMF summit in Washington D.C.

The briefing was held after a meeting of the governors and ministers of the G-24, an intergovernmental trade bloc that coordinates the positions of developing countries on international monetary and development issues.

The briefing also had in attendance the Director of G-24 Secretariat, Iyabo Masha; Ralph Recto, the secretary of finance at the Philippines; and Candelaria Moroni, Undersecretary for International Coordination and Management of the Secretariat of International Economic and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Argentina.

The minister explained that poor countries endowed with natural resource must tap into such resources to create growth and prosperity for citizens.

“For poor countries such as Nigeria and others endowed with fossil fuels in particular, we must take a realistic approach to climate change because it is the resources we have we must use to industrialise and modernise our economy,” the minister said.

“While being members of the global fight for climate change… we are signatories to the Paris Accord; we have our targets for net zero (but) while sticking to those, we must take a realistic view and use our fossil fuels to develop our economy.”

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Since the Paris Agreement, conversations have been held on how to tackle climate concerns and the responsibilities of different countries in the global pledge.

In recent years, there have been heated debates on whether poor, developing economies should be made to adhere to certain climate actions and agreements that appear to stifle their productivity and industrialisation drive amid infrastructural deficits and developmental gaps.

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Countries from the global north had pledged $100 billion per year to support mitigation and adaptation in the global south, although concerns have been raised on how well such pledges are fulfilled.

At the COP held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, loss and damage were made part of the agenda and members agreed on the establishment of a fund.

On her part, Mrs Masha explained that although the ambition to address climate concerns has been bold, financing commitments have not been commensurate with the level of ambition.