COP 28: Nigeria Pledges Total Commitment To Clean Cooling

OLADOKUN VICTORIA MODUPE

The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr. Mustapha Abdullåhi has assured world leaders of the country’s total commitment to Clean Cooling, an energy initiative adopted at the ongoing UN Climate Change Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He gave the assurance in an address at a high-level meeting attended by world leaders and other critical stakeholders on climate change.

Speaking at the event which witnessed the launch of the Global Cooling Pledge, Dr Abdullahi was emphatic on Nigeria’s commitment to the initiative as recently championed by the commission in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

He said as the head of the country’s lead agency on energy, his commitment to drive a new energy economy that would be in line with the global best practices is unwavering.

“In our capacity as the lead agency in the energy sector in Nigeria, we recently hosted a one-day workshop on Air Conditioners Monitoring, Verification and Enforcement (MVE) for government officials saddled with the responsibility of ensuring standards.

“This was done in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the overall objective of accelerating the transition to energy-efficient air-conditioners (ACs) with climate-friendly (low – GWP refrigerant) in residential and commercial buildings.

“Such initiative actually aligns with my country’s climate targets in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“However, the ongoing climate change summit here in Dubai has further broadened the scope of our work not only as a country, but also as a leading voice in Africa.

“I can assure you all that Nigeria will take the lead in advocating for this global pledge among other African nations in order to mitigate the devastating effect of global warming occasioned by climate change,” Dr. Abdullahi added.

The ECN Director-General also
used the roundtable discussion to affirm President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to aggressively pursue a climate-friendly, energy policy in the face of global warming and emissions.

Participants at the session include former United States Secretary of State, John Kerry who is now the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Ms Inger Anderson, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Mrs Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) amongst others.

The Global Cooling Pledge is an initiative that would see to the reduction in carbon emissions and bring Minimum Energy Performance (MEP) to 1.5°C across the globe.