Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, has said that to mitigate climate change, efforts need to be made to preserve and restore the natural ecosystems.
The minister said this in a message to mark the 2021 World Earth Day.
The message was contained in a press release on Thursday to commemorate with the 2021 World Earth Day signed by the Director Press, Ministry of Environment, Saghir el Mohammed
The minister called for the use of natural resources as a panacea for environmental sustainability aimed at scaling up efforts in preservation and restoration of the natural ecosystems to mitigate climate change.
The World Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22 with this year’s commemoration marks 50 years of the modern environmental movement started in 1970 that gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of the planet.
Ikeazor noted that “it is a day that stimulates worldwide awareness of climate change and the environment and should therefore enhance stronger government political commitment and massive public action to address all environmental issues.”
According to the Minister, climate change represented the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.
She disclosed that to mark the event in Nigeria, the ministry like last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic would continue to focus on issues that enhances sustainable environment.
She said: “We will focus on inspiring, sensitizing and enlightening Nigerians to take action to mitigate on climate change in line with this year’s Earth Day theme – “Restore our Earth.”
She noted that against the backdrop that COVID-19 has been reported to be a zoonotic disease that passed from animal to human, it is the time to re-evaluate our interaction with nature and adopt the one world one health approach.
Ikeazor said the Federal Government had scaled up its commitment to taking action to mitigate, adapt and promote the capacity for resilience to the impacts of climate change in the country through the ratification of the Paris Agreement by Mr President, strengthening existing institutional framework to ensure effective coordination of climate change activities and other actions.
According to her, the Nigerian government, in fulfillment of the Paris Agreement, has developed a draft Sectorial Action Plan (SAP) for the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
She said: “We are currently reviewing the National Policy on Climate Change for more effectiveness with readiness for Nigeria’s National Adaptation Plan Framework for Climate Change (NAPs – Framework).
“Also, there is a sustained effort to sensitize the citizenry to adopt clean technologies to meet Nigeria’s emission reduction target; even as we have developed the National Forest Reference Emission Factor Level (FREL) and submitted it to the UNFCCC.
“As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the times to place priority on environmental sustainability to enable us build a healthier, more sustainable future.”
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