Climate change: We’re happy US is back to the table, says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria is delighted that the US is fully back on the global climate change agenda.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Laolu Akande, Osinbajo’s spokesman, the vice-president spoke when he received a US government delegation in Abuja.

The US under Donald Trump’s administration had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on the grounds that it would “undermine” the US economy. 

But, on assumption to power earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced the restoration of US commitments to the Paris Agreement. 

The Nigerian vice-president said the move was commendable.

“We are happy that the US is fully on board with climate change and back to the table on this issue. I think one has to commend the drive that this US administration has put behind climate change,” he said.

Osinbajo reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

He restated his stand on the need for advanced economies to hold off their plans of defunding gas in developing countries, saying he intends to take his advocacy to COP26.

“We are concerned, amongst other things, first about some of what has been going on, especially around gas as an effective transition fuel, and how many of the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and some countries are insisting that gas projects should be defunded,” he added. 

“This is a principal concern to us; it is one that we have made central to our advocacy and it is one of the issues that we intend to promote at the COP26. We have done the costing for it and all of what is required to be able to hit net-zero by 2050.

“Also, what the implications would be, given the constraints there, and how realistic it would be to get to net-zero by 2050 or not.’’

Jonathan Finer, White House deputy national security adviser, informed Osinbajo of a potential partnership with Nigeria on a G-7 infrastructure programme, ‘Build Back Better World’.

“It involves bringing together a range of funding sources, development finance and the private sector, to work with key partner-countries to develop their infrastructure and fill the gap between infrastructure needs and the current state of infrastructure,” he said.