COP28: Nigeria Committed To Clean Cooling, ECN DG Assures World Leaders

The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, has assured world leaders of the country’s commitment to Clean Cooling, an energy initiative adopted at the ongoing UN Climate Change Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He gave the assurance in an address at a high-level meeting attended by world leaders and other critical stakeholders on climate change.

Speaking at the event, which witnessed the launch of the Global Cooling Pledge, Dr Abdullahi was emphatic on Nigeria’s commitment to the initiative as recently championed by the commission in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

He said as the head of the country’s lead agency on energy, his commitment to drive a new energy economy that would be in line with the global best practices is unwavering.

“In our capacity as the lead agency in the energy sector in Nigeria, we recently hosted a one-day workshop on Air Conditioners Monitoring, Verification and Enforcement (MVE) for government officials saddled with the responsibility of ensuring standards.

“This was done in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the overall objective of accelerating the transition to energy-efficient air-conditioners (ACs) with climate-friendly (low – GWP refrigerant) in residential and commercial buildings.

“Such initiative actually aligns with my country’s climate targets in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“However, the ongoing climate change summit here in Dubai has further broadened the scope of our work not only as a country, but also as a leading voice in Africa.

“I can assure you all that Nigeria will take the lead in advocating for this global pledge among other African nations in order to mitigate the devastating effect of global warming occasioned by climate change,” Dr. Abdullahi added.

The ECN Director-General also used the roundtable discussion to affirm President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to aggressively pursue a climate-friendly, energy policy in the face of global warming and emissions.