Africa accounts for less than 1% of global carbon, Nigeria’s Vice President says
LAGOS, Nigeria (The Informant247) – African countries account for less than one per cent of cumulative global carbon emissions, Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said, stressing that the most hostile impacts of climate change on the continent were triggered by activities of wealthier nations.
“We are major victims of the effects of climate change, but there are a few important issues that we have flagged to our wealthier brother-countries in the global north,” Osinbajo told experts on Thursday in Lagos.
“The first is that we, in the developing world are faced with two, not one crisis; one is climate change and the other is extreme poverty, the cause and consequence of which is energy poverty.
“The second is that African countries are the least emitters of carbon today – less than one per cent of cumulative CO2 emissions and even if we triple electricity consumption in African countries (aside from South Africa) solely through the use of natural gas this would add just 0.6 per cent to global emissions.
“So, a lot of the flooding and adverse weather events that we are experiencing here are from emissions caused by the wealthier countries,” he said.
The vice president said that most countries, including Nigeria, agreed that there was a need to reduce global emissions to zero in Nigeria’s case by 2060.
Osinbajo said that the sixth and perhaps most crucial point was that Nigeria must take quick and informed actions in its national interest.
