President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pledged that Nigeria is ready to host the Secretariat of the Sahel Climate Fund, including equipping and provision of accommodation to the top management staff of the fund.
The “Sahel Climate Fund” is the financial body of the Sahel Region Climate Commission (SRCC).
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the body is one of the three climate Commissions for Africa created in Marrakech, Morocco in 2016 at the Summit of African Heads of State and Government, organised at the initiative of King of Morocco, on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Speaking at the 2nd Heads of State and Government of SRCC during the 36th AU Summit, the President said as an active member of the Commission, Nigeria will support the operationalization of the secretariat toward effective implementation of climate change activities in the region.
He expressed concern that the availability and access to funds for implementation of climate change activities, especially adaptation, remain major problems for the African region.
He, therefore, described the Sahel Climate Fund as an additional financial resource which is adequate and predictable for implementation of the requirements of the Climate Change Convention and the Paris Agreement.
According to the Nigerian leader, the Fund will, among others, serve as a gateway to climate finance and investment strategy, finance the implementation of National Determined Contributions (NDCs) of member states and ensure effective participation of the Sahel Region in the global effort to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
