The launch of the new Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) at the ongoing climate change summit in Egypt, which aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Guardian reports a new Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) has been launched at the ongoing climate change summit in Egypt, which aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa.
Carbon markets offer an incredible opportunity to unlock billions for the climate finance needs of African economies while expanding energy access, creating jobs, protecting biodiversity, and driving climate action. However, Africa currently produces only a tiny percentage of its carbon credit potential.
The initiative intends to promote demand for existing credits, or those already in development, as well as for products and innovative project types that don’t yet have a market and can substantively contribute to economic prosperity, livelihoods and environmental preservation across the continent (such as diesel decommissioning or biodiversity credits).
Led by a 13-member steering committee of African leaders, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and carbon credit experts, ACMI was launched with the aim of dramatically expanding Africa’s participation in voluntary carbon markets.
The initiative was inaugurated at COP 27, in collaboration with The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, with the support of the UN Climate Change High Level Champions – Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin and Nigel Topping.
ACMI announced a bold ambition for the continent: to reach 300 million credits produced yearly by 2030. This level of production would unlock six billion in income and support 30 million jobs. By 2050, ACMI is targeting over 1.5 billion credits produced yearly in Africa, leveraging over $120 billion and supporting over 110 million jobs.
Many African nations, including Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Nigeria and Togo, shared their commitment to collaborating with ACMI to scale carbon credit production via voluntary carbon market activation plans. Together, these seven countries have a maximum potential to generate ~300+ MtCO2e. Even capturing 25 per cent of this potential, ~75 MtCO2e would be double the total credits issued across the entire continent in 2021.
The newspaper says that President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated eight Nigerian-Americans on their victory in the U.S. midterm elections. In Georgia, Segun Adeyina, Gabe Okoye, Solomon Adesanya, Tish Naghise and Phil Olaleye won their legislative seats as State Representatives in their districts.
Similarly, Carol Kazeem won the Pennsylvania State Representative in District 159, Esther Agbaje was re-elected as Minnesota State Representative in District 59B, while Dr. Oye Owolewa was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (Shadow Representative) in Washington D.C.
In prayerful wishes for a successful tenure in office, President Buhari also thanked them for their invaluable support and partnerships over the years with groups affiliated with the ideals and objectives of Nigerians in Diaspora associations in the United States.
Also, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has applauded the victory achieved by the Nigerians. She noted with nostalgia that these Nigerians have brought not only fame to themselves but have used their resilient spirit to shore up the image of the country.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government is spending nine per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product to address climate change in Nigeria, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdulahi, said on Wednesday.
Nigeria’s GDP was worth $440.78bn in 2021, according to official data from the World Bank. Nine per cent of this figure is $39.67bn; hence, Nigeria may spend around this amount in tackling climate change, based on the disclosure of the Federal Government.
Abdulahi disclosed this while addressing African leaders during the inauguration of the African Carbon Market Initiative, a side event organised by the Climate Action at the ongoing COP27 in Egypt.
He spoke on the efforts being made by the Federal Government to mitigate climate change and its impacts across the country, according to a statement issued in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
“Abdullahi revealed that Nigeria submitted a highly ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions and is spending up to nine per cent of its GDP in addressing climate change,” the ministry stated.
The minister told participants that in 2021, Nigeria became the first African country to design a detailed Energy Transition Plan to tackle energy poverty and climate change, as well as deliver universal access to energy by 2030 and net-zero by 2060.
He also told the gathering that Nigeria was going through severe climate change issues. Abdullahi called on African leaders to take decisive actions to mitigate the impact of climate change, stressing that the continent was at a critical time with respect to the world’s climate future.
Outlining some devastating effects of climate change in Nigeria and other parts of the world, Abdullahi said, “Our actions today and over the next few decades will determine the fate of future generations and the planet.
“This year, we witnessed disastrous extreme weather events from terrifying wildfires in the United States, to unprecedented heat waves in India, Pakistan, and Europe, to powerful floods in my country, Nigeria.
“This devastating floods have affected about 33 states, displacing over 1.4 million people, destroying over 100,000 hectares of farmland and causing about 600 deaths.”
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Federal Government is targeting 6.3 per cent rate, 7 per cent economic growth and 0.3 per cent poverty rate by 2050.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, during a pre-National Economic Summit press conference held in Abuja on Wednesday.
Agba said the Nigeria Agenda 2050, which was developed by the current administration, was designed to transform the country into an upper middle-income developing country with a per capita income of $33,000.
On the other hand, he said, the National Development Plan 2021-2025 had the vision to unlock the potential of the country in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic and inclusive national development.
He said the Nigeria Agenda 2050 would be implemented through a series of medium-term plans and annual budgets.
“The plan is meant to drastically bring poverty rate to 0.6 per cent and unemployment rate to 6.3 per cent while transiting the economy to the highest per capita GDP of the group of upper middle income economies,” he said.
He said sustained growth was key to eradication of poverty.
GIK/APA