By Liade Akinboade
ABUJA — Nigeria is to demand compensation for the effect of climate change on its people at the forthcoming Copenhagen conference on climate change, the Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey disclosed yesterday.
Mr. Odey’s declaration came with the revelation that 180 million Africans will be rendered homeless by climatic changes in ten years time. The Head, Special Climate Change Unit, Dr. Victor Fodeke revealed the impact on the African population at an inter-ministerial committee meeting on climate change in Abuja.
Disclosing the country’s objectives at the Copenhagen summit, Mr. Odey said: “Nigeria should seize the opportunity of the Copenhagen Conference to urgently exert its political muscle in and out of the continent to insist not only that Africa must be compensated for the impacts of climate change and opportunity lost, but also that the
compensatory funds be channeled as a matter of emergency, directly to Africa through the African Development Bank.”
“For us in Nigeria, the up coming Conference in December is very crucial to our Development agenda and our national vision. The climate change scenarios for Nigeria indicate that the climatic variability currently being experienced is likely to increase and intensify.
Drought, floods and storms are likely to increase in both frequency and intensity. Changes in perspiration levels and patterns are also likely to occur thus having an impact on agriculture and food production.
This is saddening! Every country contributed to climate change; so, every country should be responsible. Perhaps, Mr. Odey and his colleagues in government should think of how to make make our refineries and PHCN work, to reduce the emissions from the power generating sets in all our homes combined, instead of ways to collect billions of dollars that wont even be channelled into the projects it was meant for.
well said ,but are we not contributors to the changes? our bushes burn year in year out, we dump eventually burnt TOKUNBO goods, what about the by products of our generating sets, human wastes from accidents flying all over our roads ?? ?
150 million people who are only looting and brething out carbon dioxide.
If the Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey could loot UN at the forthcoming Copenhagen conference on climate change successfully, it will show that we are not only giant but monster of AFIRI-IKA
> Changes in perspiration levels…
That’s understandable given the higher temperatures. I expect precipitation levels will also increase in some places.