Okonkwo Samuel
By Michael Chibuzo
It is now official that Nigeria has the largest population of confidently ignorant people in the world. These folks lack understanding of so many topics that affect humanity among which is CLIMATE CHANGE.
It started with the reactions of many ignorant folks to Buhari’s submission to a Panel during the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23, 2019. As the panel discussion got underway, the moderator asked: “President Buhari, Nigeria has a very young population; perhaps you might highlight what a pathway for a resilient future looks like?”
The president then began reading his answer from a prepared speech that detailed Nigeria’s entire policy around climate change, not different from what other world leaders in the panel did. But these ignorant folks shouted to high heavens that Buhari spoke off-point! One thing I have always learned to do is that if I’m not knowledgeable on a topic, I don’t comment blindly. I first research to get a basic understanding and context. But alas our ignorant brethren in their haste to castigate Mr. President did none of these in an area they know nothing about. They heard resilient and youth and their mind told them the topic should JUST be about hardworking young people and the things you plan to do to give them a great future. They forgot the CONTEXT. Very key. The context here is climate change. Once you hear resilient future, you’re talking in the context of climate change.
Now fast forward three years later, these ignorant folks have not updated their knowledge base about the dynamics involved in the climate change discussion hence their reaction and derision to the comments of the incoming President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the climate change question. At the risk of ending up with a lengthy epistle, let me give us a brief perspective on the controversies surrounding the climate change discussion (meanwhile climate change is part of one of the courses I offered in my MSc program, I can therefore claim basic knowledge on the subject matter).
What is Climate Change to start with?
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. However, since the start of the industrial revolution, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, mostly due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. Note these factors, COAL, OIL, and GAS. Burning of fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures (Global warming). These greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane and they come from using petrol in a car or generator, using coal to generate power. Clearing of land and forests also releases CO2 while landfills for garbage constitute the main source of methane emissions.
Now, the discussion around slowing down climate change revolves around reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and by extension reducing the burning of fossil fuels. This is the sticking point. Global leaders talk about the transition to CLEAN and RENEWABLE energy, which are by the way more expensive. However many countries rich in fossil fuel deposits including oil companies are not ready to commit to abandoning oil and gas exploration and production to ‘save the planet. Nigeria is among these countries. This is where a Climate Change deal comes into the picture involving every country if possible because the effect of climate change is global.
While a growing coalition of countries, especially the already industrialized ones, is committing to net zero emissions by 2050, about half of emissions cuts must be in place by 2030 to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Fossil fuel production must therefore decline by roughly 6 percent per year between 2020 and 2030. Now you can begin to see the headache for countries like Nigeria and other oil-producing countries that depend on oil and gas revenues to develop.
Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. One critical step is for industrialized countries to fulfill their commitment to providing $100 billion a year to developing countries so they can adapt and move towards greener economies (by abandoning incrementally, oil and gas-based processes). Let me stop here.
Can you now see the context in which the capacity thinker, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was making the statement about if the industrialized countries can keep to their annual financing commitment to the developing countries then we can begin to have a conversation? This brought about the analogy with the church rat where Tinubu stated “Climate change is a question of how do you prevent a church rat from eating a poisoned Holy Communion”. The church rat signifies POOR RESOURCE-RICH NATIONS like Nigeria while the poisoned holy communion signifies OIL AND GAS which despite being a source of revenue for these nations are the main contributors to climate change hence it’s a ‘blessed curse’.
As I conclude I want to urge our people to widen their knowledge about things that affect our environment and the global dynamics at play. Your smartphone is not meant for watching skits alone or criticizing blindly. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated that he is well-versed in the things that matter including the climate change discussion. Congratulations in advance to our incoming President!
May Nigeria succeed 🙏
Daily News Reporters
