The recent pronouncement on climate action by United Nations Secretary-General puts Nigeria on global watch considering her mountain of ecological challenges, writes SAM NWOKORO
On May 5, 2016, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, chaired a summit on Climate Action. Nigeria sent a representative to the summit, which was a decisive follow-up to the earlier Climate Change Summit in which about 134 countries appended their signatures to abide by UN rules governing policy implementations to halt climate change.
At the summit, Ki-moon stated that once about 55 nations start implementing the protocol, UN would formally ratify it. The implication is that any sovereign nation that falls short of policy action towards environmental remediation and cutting back carbon emission will be punished.
Nigeria, earlier this year, signed the Paris Agreement along with about 134 countries. However, it lags behind in formulating enduring policies to contain simple ecological problems at home. A combination of local politics of interest, decades-long neglect and lack of political will had dragged Nigeria back in having a sustainable policy towards the environment.
For instance, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which contained time-bound instruments to tackle ecological problems, especially in high carbon-emitting zones of the country, such as the hydro-carbon bearing areas, is yet to become law. Contentions had slowed the passage, as diverse interests, from oil prospecting firms to host communities, bicker over how the bill, if passed into law, would address their grievances. Here are highlights of Nigeria’s challenges that would make her a possible non-compliant nation to the Paris Agreement.
Collaboration between public and private entities
One of the issues Ki-moon raised during the Climate Action summit was the need for effective collaboration between government and private entities to fast-track policies geared towards environmental remediation and carbon emission reduction.
The UN scribe had said at the summit: “I have been looking forward to this event because it is about solution, innovation and imagination, collaboration and partnership between the private and public sectors.”
Embedded in the speech is the unarguable realisation that not only political authorities should be active in the task. However, those conversant with policy processes in Nigeria, its peculiar fiscal federalism and the nature of her economy and level of technology agree that this will be a tall order. Signals of this is already on the ground, as the government, burdened with internal political combustions and unending fiscal politicking between the executive and legislative arms, is hamstrung, so to speak, on any policy issue so far beyond exhortations, almost a year after taking power.
The Muhammadu Buhari government has talked about making life better and addressing all pending environmental remediation mandates ordered by the UN environment court so far. Even at that, oil spills and flaming petrol smoke on the highways and street corners continue to blanket Nigerian skies now and then, blackening the air and contributing to over-arching doses of chlorofluorocarbon emission, further peeling off whatever remains of the ozone layer in this part of the world.
Niger Delta ecological quagmire
Here, even if the Nigerian government pours all the money it has, it can hardly assuage the environmental degradation of the area. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) slammed on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) $1 billion penalty to clean up Niger Delta. But whether the fine has been paid or not, there is nothing on the ground like federal government’s commitment in addressing the monumental environmental damage in the area.
Ecology tax
Here, already pending taxes to tackle carbon emission overdose is still splitting hairs. Not all oil companies operating in the hydrocarbon-bearing zones pay ecological taxes. Even where it is paid, tax collecting agencies, as revealed by recent Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), are hardly diligent at tax collection. This is another challenge facing Nigerian authorities in keeping faith with the articles of the Paris Agreement on limiting carbon emission.
Host communities
In Nigeria, host communities of hydrocarbon-producing firms are very randomly short-changed in terms of compensation. Ignorance, lack of political power and various other factors make them easy victims of government’s poor concern over climate change. They suffer flood, epidemic, polluted water, and all manner of accumulated environmental rape.
Low appropriation and corruption
Analysts fear that a government that is complaining of meeting budget targets and romancing with the idea of borrowing money to finance deficit stands little chance of meeting up with articles of the Paris Agreement.
Public institutions in Nigeria, notwithstanding all the efforts against corrupt practices, are likely to constitute impediments in tacking global warming problems with the kind of urgency it deserves.
Zero-carbon economy
Nigeria has challenges completing some contracts it awarded. Most of them were not planned on green template. So expecting due compliance with zero economy may be a tall order.
Also, gas flaring in Nigeria may likely continue for a long time to come as Nigeria plans to increase oil reserves by developing new wells.