BNRCC Project Backgrounder - Building Nigeria's Response To ...

PAGE 12Nigeria: Commitments & ActionWhen the phenomenon ofClimate Change caught theWorld’s attention, Nigeriawas one of the 154 countriesthat initialed the Conventionin Rio in 1992, and it becamea party as soon as the Conventioncame into force.Nigeria was party to the ratifiedConvention on the 29thof August, 1994 and hasratified the Kyoto Protocol.By 27 th November, 1994,Nigeria became committedwhen the Conventionentered into full force.As a signatory to UNFCCCunder the Non‐Annex I parties,Nigeria’s obligation includesthe following:• To produce four keyNational Communications.The 1 st and only NationalCommunication was producedby Nigeria in November2003.As a party to the Convention, Nigeria must meet the obligationsand commitments to the Convention, which isaimed primarily at controlling Climate Change by reducingto the absolute minimum the concentration of greenhousegases in the atmosphere. Over and above this, thecore challenge at the local level is to develop the frameworkand capacity: (i) to assess the vulnerability of sectorsand sections to different scenarios of climate change impact,(ii) to develop, assess and implement mitigation andadaptation options, and (iii) to strengthen the negotiatingability in climate change transactions.Nigeria’s major achievement in responding to the Conventionand the Protocol is the production of the First NationalCommunication (FNC) in November, 2003. Thoughthe second National Communication has not been produced,the process is definitely underway. A stakeholders’initiation workshop on the Second National Communication(SNC) took place in December 2006. National expertsto undertake works in the thematic areas have been identified,trained and classified into groups each with a leadConsultant. Nigeria is signing an agreement with Consultantswho will go into the field to obtain data in this wise.Nigeria is also preparing for a meeting with the stakeholderson Climate Change. The SCCU may be contactedthrough: The Head, Special Climate Change Unit, 9 th FloorFederal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.• To produce four indepthreview summaries.None have been produced.• To produce a demonstrableprogress report (yetto be produced)• To produce the NationalAdaptation Programme ofAction (yet to be produced)• To produce a GlobalClimate Observing System(GCOS) Report (yet to beproduced)“Given that climate change will occur irrespectiveof whatever the urgent global actions taken,Nigeria needs as a nation to put in place a robustportfolio or mix of strategies that includesmitigation and adaptation if we are not to slowdown the pace of progress towards sustainabledevelopment.”‘Nigeria: The Challenge of changing globalclimate.’ The Guardian, Monday, December 24,2007, Page 40