Nigerians canoe through clusters of water hyacinth in Ojo, near Lagos, in southwest Nigeria, Nov. 9, 2006. Nigeria intends to press First World countries at the Copenhagen conference to start a fund to help pay for damages in Africa caused by climate change. (George Esiri/Reuters)

Nigeria to press First World on climate change

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Growing chorus of African countries calls for pledges to a climate change fund at Copenhagen.

By Shyamantha Asokan — Special to GlobalPost

Published: November 9, 2009 06:56 ET
Updated: November 16, 2009 12:22 ET

ABUJA, Nigeria — Eziuche Chinwe Ubani, a top Nigerian climate change official, has joined a growing chorus of African delegates who believe that developed countries must pledge cash to the continent to help it deal with the effects of global warming.

“Of course I think we should ask for money from developed countries. They have used resources and energy — often our resources — to grow and become developed,” said Ubani, chairman of Nigeria’s House of Representatives committee on climate change, to GlobalPost. “But now we do not have the technology to deal with the bad effects.”

Ubani hopes such a pledge will be discussed at the Copenhagen conference in December, when environment ministers and other leaders from some 180 countries will meet to forge a global climate change pact.

“Climate change is a truly global problem — if someone in Asia screws up [by producing high emissions], we suffer everywhere,” said Ubani.

African states have issued growing calls in recent months for a climate change fund for developing countries. Salifou Sawadogo, Burkina Faso’s environment minister, was quoted in October as saying Africa would need $65 billion to cope with the effects of global warming. Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, has similarly called for a “climate justice fund” for the developing world.

Moves to keep global warming down to an increase of 2 degrees Celsius could cost developing countries $140 billion to $675 billion a year, according to the World Bank. Adapting to global warming — as opposed to trying to stem it — could cost $75 billion a year. Possible projects include providing micro-loans to farmers as annual rains become less reliable, and investing in renewable energy to cut emissions.

“I have seen various estimates, but I don’t know how much it will cost each year,” Ubani said, referring to the amount required across all developing countries. “But I know it will be a lot.”

Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous nation, and a patchwork of ethnic groups and ecosystems, is already suffering. In the north, the Sahara desert was spreading downwards by more than two miles a year in 2001, according to the U.N. That figure is now closer to 10 miles, said Ubani.

Meanwhile, along the Gulf of Guinea coastline in the south, sea levels are rising. Nigeria’s frenetic commercial center, Lagos, has been erecting coastal barriers. The country’s oil-rich Delta region is also at risk.

“Nigeria is caught in this double-bind on climate change,” said Ewah Eleri, co-founder and director of the country’s International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development. “We have arid deserts in the north, while sea levels rise in the south.”