COP27: “No More Blame Game!” Buhari Seeks Urgent Climate Action

Buhari is seeking urgent climate action, telling world leaders to stop the blame game.

Eko Hot Blog reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has urged world leaders to quit the blame game regarding the global climate crisis.

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Buhari, who was represented by Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, spoke at the clean energy transition event organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), on the sidelines of the ongoing Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.

The president, who promised more commitments by Nigeria to tackle the climate crisis, urged world leaders to avoid delays in implementing efforts to tackle climate change.

According to the Nigerian leader, actions today and over the next few decades will determine the fate of future generations and the planet.

Buhari also recounted the climate disasters that have happened this year alone across the world.

“This year, we have witnessed disastrous extreme weather events from terrifying wildfires in the United States to unprecedented heat waves in India, Pakistan, and Europe, to intense floods in my country, Nigeria,” he said.

“From early summer till now, devastating floods have affected about 33 states in Nigeria, displacing over 1.4 million people, destroying over 100,000 hectares of farmland and causing about 600 deaths. In addition, we are witnessing increased desertification, erosion, and pollution in the country; the impacts of which are too severe to ignore.”

Buhari stated that these glaring climate signals indicate that the world does not have the luxury of time when it comes to the impacts of climate change.

He, therefore, called for urgent and decisive climate action from the countries most responsible for the emissions that cause climate change, saying the case for accelerated climate action is even more pressing. He said developing countries are pledging to take action despite contributing very little to climate change.

“As will be strongly demanded here at COP27, we cannot afford any more delays; our people and nations are on the line. The blame game should stop, affirmative and positive commitment to address these challenges must begin NOW,” the president said.

Speaking on Nigeria’s effort to combat the climate crisis, Buhari that, in 2021, his country became the first African nation to design a detailed Energy Transition Plan to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change and deliver universal access to energy (SDG7) by 2030 and net-zero by 2060.

Buhari emphasised that Nigeria has developed an audacious plan and adopted it as a national policy, adding that the critical thing now is delivering the plan’s targets.

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Consequently, he called on developed nations and international partners to partner with Nigeria to raise about $410 billion above business-as-usual spending to deliver a just energy transition partnership by 2060.

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