President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Doha Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations framework convention on Climate Change.
The Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Abubakar disclosed this on Friday night while briefing journalists in Kaduna State.
He explained that by signing the amendment, Nigeria has become the 144th country out of the 192 signatories to ratify the protocol which ends today.
Abubakar noted that the Doha amendment comes into force on December 31.
“Today, Nigeria has ratified the Doha amendment to the Kyoloa protocol. The genesis of the Doha amendment to the Kyola protocol started in 1997 when 192 countries in a conference of parties on climate change under the United Nations framework on the convention of climate change came up with an agreement for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission by 5.2 per cent,” he said
“And they were 192, of the 192, we need 144 countries to ratify the protocol before it comes into force.
“Because of the politics of the economy and all that, over time, some countries decided not to sign, some decided to pull out. All the time, the countries that were signing were trickling in.
“Well, today, I can say Nigeria has a history, our president has become the champion of climate change.”
Then Minister said the protocol will assist Nigeria and other developing countries to tackle most of its environmental challenges.
The challenges, he stressed include gas emission, erosion, global warming, and reducing environmental temperature among others.
Following Nigeria’s signing of the Protocol, UN Climate Change head Patricia Espinosa thanked President Buhari for his assent.
While describing the move as fantastic news, she said it was an incredible milestone towards climate action.
“An incredible milestone! With 144 parties now signed, the Doha amendment enters into force. This is fantastic news for our process @UNFCCC towards #ClimateAction. Many thanks, Nigeria 🇳🇬 @MBuhari for your ratification!” she said.
Earlier, Espinosa had been encouraging countries to expedite the ratification of the amendment. “It’s about fulling commitments,” she said.
An incredible milestone! With 144 parties now signed, the Doha amendment enters into force. This is fantastic news for our process @UNFCCC towards #ClimateAction. Many thanks Nigeria 🇳🇬 @MBuhari for your ratification!
— Patricia Espinosa C. (@PEspinosaC) October 2, 2020
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol set binding climate targets for developed countries.
The amendment signed in Qatar in 2012 extended their obligations and created a second commitment period for 37 countries to cut their emissions from 2013 to 2020.
