Nigeria is participating in the Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, alongside representatives from over 150 countries. The meeting focuses on evaluating global climate efforts to limit global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The discussions at the annual meeting primarily focus on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, aiming to collectively address looming crises across various sectors and their impact on individual countries before 2030.
As it relates to climate change, SDGs 7, 13, 14, and 15 speak to climate targets and also indicators that provide a method to review the overall progress of each target.
SDG 7 focuses on ensuring affordable and clean energy, SDG 13 targets climate action, while SDGs 14 and 15 focus on life below water and on land, respectively.
Globally, the United Nations has warned that the world is far from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, and stresses the urgent need for action to address the escalating threats of climate change. Although the Paris Agreement has spurred climate action at both global and national levels, there is still a substantial gap in progress.
As obtained in several countries, Nigeria also falls short of these climate targets as data shows that Nigeria is more vulnerable to climate change and less ready for climate resilience and adaptation than the average country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Meeting this goal will ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. According to the UN, about 660 million people will still lack access to electricity, and close to 2 billion people will still rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking by 2030.
The goal has five targets which are: Universal access to modern energy, increasing the global percentage of renewable energy, doubling the improvement in energy efficiency, promoting access to research, technology, and investments in clean energy, and expanding and upgrading energy services for developing countries.
In Nigeria, only 25.6% of the country’s population has access to clean fuels and cooking technologies, leaving many households dependent on traditional biomass fuels such as wood and charcoal. Similarly, the transportation sector in Nigeria contributes more to emissions than any other sector of the country.
SDG 13: Climate Action
This goal speaks to countries taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Between 2010 and 2020, highly vulnerable regions, which are home to approximately 3.3–3.6 billion people, experienced 15 times higher human mortality rates from floods, droughts, and storms compared to regions with very low vulnerability.
Climate action is essentially tied to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG). In Nigeria, CO2 rose by 127%, from 44.331 megatonnes (Mt) in 2000 to 100.389 Mt in 2022. Also, Nigeria is ranked as the fourth highest emitter of CO2 from fuel combustion in Africa in 2022.
SDG 14: Life Below Water
This goal focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, including marine life, to support sustainable development. It also aims to reduce pollution and enhance the economic benefits of sustainable marine resource management. The UN noted that plastic is the most harmful type of marine litter, with over 17 million metric tons clogging the ocean in 2021, a figure set to double or triple by 2040.
Water pollution leads to a loss of biodiversity by damaging or hindering the growth of aquatic plant and animal life, leaving water bodies lifeless and incapable of supporting ecosystems. Data from the Condorferries report showed that Nigeria is among the top ten countries with mismanaged plastic waste entering the sea.
SDG 14: Life on Land
The goal focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, managing forests responsibly, combating desertification, reversing land degradation, and stopping the loss of biodiversity.
The global forest coverage, which is one of the largest reservoirs for carbon, has decreased from 31.9 percent in 2000 (4.2 billion hectares) to 31.2 percent (4.1 billion hectares) in 2020, mostly due to agricultural expansion. The impact of deforestation not only affects the land and atmosphere but also other biodiversities that depend on the forest for shelter.
According to Global Forest Watch, in 2010, Nigeria had 10.6 million hectares (Mha) of natural forest, covering 12 percent of its land area. By 2023, the country lost 81,200 hectares (kha) of natural forest, resulting in the release of 54.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Expert reacts
The Executive Director of Partnership for Social and Environmental Development Initiative, Eme Okang, told Dataphyte that Nigeria has several policies for each of the SDGs which cannot be overruled but there are still significant gaps.
“There are policies for SDG7 which are the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy and we also have the Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan and the country set targets which have not been met. The government said we would be able to achieve solar by 60 percent before 2020 but that has not been effective.
“For policy on SDG 13, we have National Policy on Climate Change, we have Nigerian Nationally Determined Contributions, for SDG 14 we have National Policy on Environment and National Biodiversity Policy and Action Plan. For SDG 15, we have the National Forest Policy and the Great Green Wall program which was part of the African Union initiative in which Nigeria participated,” she listed.
Okang noted that the challenges the country faces are reliable access, financial constraints, outdated infrastructure, dependence on fossil fuel, and worsening insecurity which would stop the transition to meet our targets by 2030.
The delay in actualizing the target underscores significant gaps in governance, economic productivity, and resource mobilisation which might result in setbacks in key areas such as poverty reduction, quality education, and health outcomes within the country.
In summary, Nigeria is lagging behind all its SDG targets and must now work overtime to catch up.
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