REVEALED: Nigeria’s COP28 delegation is largest in Africa — and same as China’s

Nigeria has the highest number of registered delegates from Africa at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

According to a list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Nigeria is also third-highest overall in number of delegates at the conference.

The provisional total for COP28 indicates that 81,027 delegates registered to attend the summit in person. With a further 3,074 attending virtually, this takes the overall total to 84,101, a report released on Friday by Carbon Brief said.

The figure is 30,000 more than those who travelled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for COP27 in 2022, the previous largest in an almost 30-year history of summits.

The UAE accounted for the largest-ever registered delegation of any country, with 4,409 badges, followed by Brazil with 3,081.

Nigeria and China are joint third with 1,411 badges each.

Apart from government officials, staff of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and celebrities are among those who registered to attend the annual climate change conference.

President Bola Tinubu, who is in Dubai for the conference, is expected to deliver a national statement at the world leaders’ summit highlighting Nigeria’s stance on various thematic issues, including renewable energy and climate financing.