Buhari at UNGA77: Development financial firms should prioritise renewable energy projects

President Muhammadu Buhari says development financial institutions should prioritise making credit facilities available for renewable energy projects.

Buhari said this on Wednesday while delivering a speech at the United Nations general assembly (UNGA77) in New York.

He said no country should be left behind as the world transitions to clean energy, adding that the high cost of energy caused by the Russia-Ukraine war is affecting the whole world.

“Climate change reduces opportunity and prosperity which, in Africa, Latin America and some parts of Asia also contribute to transnational organised crimes,” he said.

“As part of Nigeria’s efforts at achieving our Global Net-zero aspiration, the current administration last year adopted a National Climate Change Strategy that aims to deliver climate change mitigation in a sustainable manner.

“The measures we took at the national level also require climate justice. Africa and other developing nations produce only a small proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to industrial economies. Yet, we are the hardest hit by the consequences of climate change as we see in the sustained droughts in Somalia and floods of unprecedented severity in Pakistan.

“These and other climate-related occurrences are now sadly becoming widely commonplace in the developing world. We are, in effect, literally paying the price for policies that others pursue. This needs to change.

“At the COP26 in Glasgow last year, I did say that Nigeria was not asking for permission to make the same mistakes that others have made in creating the climate emergency.

“Fortunately, we now know what we can do to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis and the related energy challenge. As a first step, we must all commit to releasing the financing and the technology to create a stable and affordable framework for energy transition.

“Development financial institutions must prioritise de-risking energy projects to improve access of renewable projects to credit facilities. There should be no countries ‘left behind’ in this equation.

“Rocketing energy costs worldwide are, in part, the product of conflict and supply disruptions to Europe and the Americas. Yet, we are all paying the price. It is, therefore, our expectation that this UNGA 77 and the upcoming COP27 will help galvanise the political will required to drive action towards the fulfilment of the various existing climate change initiatives.”