The Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, Ajuri Ngelale, has begun stakeholders’ engagement on plans by Nigeria to maximise the potential in the climate ecosystem.

President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of a committee to oversee the Green Economic Initiative, known as the Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions.

Mr Tinubu also approved the appointment of Ngelale as Special Envoy on Climate Action while retaining his role as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity.

The envoy met with the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, in New York on the first leg of the engagements on Wednesday.

Mr Ngelale said that the meeting with Ms Mohammed was aimed at deepening collaboration with critical stakeholders on the existential matter on Nigeria’s new climate policies.

The Green Economy committee is part of a strategic move of the President to ensure the advancement of his administration’s climate and green economic initiatives.

The committee will coordinate and oversee all the policies and programmes on climate action and green economic development.

It will coordinate, foster a whole-of-government approach to climate-action programmes and provide an efficient governance architecture.

Also, the committee will ensure that  the relevant institutions in the sector are plugged into the President’s vision and are collectively implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda on climate action.

Mr Ngelale had a meeting with a sector-wide technical working group of the U.S. State Department at U.S. State Department Headquarters in Washington D.C.

“We delved into important areas of mutual concern ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference holding in Bonn, Germany, next week. I presented Nigeria’s green industrial plans and discussed our participation in the Energy Transition Accelerator, Methane reduction programme, as well as our Carbon Market and Management Initiatives, and updates on our NDCs, amongst other important matters,” he said.

Mr Ngelale similarly met with Mr Landon Derentz of the Global Energy Centre of the Washington-based Atlantic Council on Wednesday in Washington D.C.

He said that the meeting centred on a productive and incisive discussion with Nigeria’s new reforms and programmes tabled.

He noted, “As a key stakeholder in the global climate action and finance ecosystem, we shared views about green industry and carbon capture technology manufacturing and implementation in Nigeria moving forward. Exciting times are ahead for Africa’s most populous nation.”

Mr Tinubu had charged the committee to coordinate the activities of relevant federal institutions towards the attainment of all agreed climate action and green economic objectives and non-oil/non-gas ambitions of the federal government.

He also urged it to collaborate with all the relevant government, sub-national governments, non-government, and civil society entities towards the attainment of the climate action objectives and ambitions of the federal government.

(NAN)