President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday, 1st December 2018 departed Abuja for Katowice, Poland where he is expected to attend the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Rostrum365 gathered that the summit, which will take place between December 2 and 4, 2018, will be held at the International Conference Centre in Katowice, Poland.
According to the statement issued by the president's Special Adviser (SA) on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, the organisers say the conference is expected to finalize the rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) – the rule book for implementation.
President Buhari who will be in Poland till December 4, will join 29 heads of government to speak at the summit opening on Monday, 3rd December 2018.
He will deliver a national statement highlighting Nigeria’s commitment to addressing climate change by implementing the goals set out in its National Determined Contributions.
Also, the president will use the occasion to accentuate Nigeria’s willingness to work with international partners to reverse the negative effects of climate change in Africa and the world over, while expecting that developed nations scale up their emission reduction activities in order to limit the increase in average global temperatures to well below two degrees centigrade between now and 2020.
The Leaders’ Summit is expected to adopt a ‘‘Declaration on Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia,’’ – named after the region of Poland.
As a member of the Committee of the African Heads of State on Climate Change – a group of 10 African countries that meets and takes positions concerning issues of climate change on behalf of the continent – Nigeria has been at the forefront of advancing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change such as reviving the Lake Chad, halting and reversing desertification, flooding, ocean surge and oil spillage.
President Buhari will continue to champion these pressing issues at COP24 in Katowice, among others, as well as reiterate Nigeria’s position on the need for African countries to access financial resources, especially the Green Climate Fund to draw up climate change adaptation policies and actions for implementation.
The Nigerian delegation will also showcase the policy measures and actions of the Federal Government at ensuring environmental sustainability and effectively combating climate change through several side events within the Nigerian pavilion.
While in Poland, President Buhari will hold an interactive session with the Nigerian community in the country.
He is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the President of Poland Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Accompanying him on the trip are Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger.
Others on his entourage include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.
