The presidency announced on Tuesday the establishment of the North-West Climate Fund, designed to finance the region’s response to drought, flooding, and related environmental challenges.
According to Abdullahi Yakasai, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-West), the initiative targets approximately N20 billion over the next four years.
Yakasai briefed State House correspondents on Tuesday on the sidelines of the North West Climate Summit at the State House Conference Center in Abuja, where officials unveiled the fund alongside a climate academy and a climate investment marketplace.
The event centered on the theme ‘Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Unlocking Land, Water & Energy Systems.’
He explained that the funds would be mobilized for the region and channeled through his office to tackle climate change challenges, including migration, drought, flooding, and the transition to renewable energy.
“We’re looking at the region of N20bn in the next four years. So all these are aimed at easing the problems of climate, because this is what is bedevilling the whole world.
“The whole world now is focused on climate change. Even climate financing came up after COVID-19, so the whole world realised the need for climate financing, and we’re working to see how we can tap into that and help the region to alleviate all the issues around climate change,” he stated.
According to the summit brochure obtained by our PUNCH, the fund will channel grants, impact capital, and carbon finance toward women-led green enterprises and climate resilience projects.
Backstory…
Nigeria’s North-West region faces growing environmental challenges, including desertification, soil degradation, erratic rainfall and recurrent flooding, which threaten agricultural production and the livelihoods of rural communities.
The region’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture makes farmers particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns and prolonged dry spells.
These challenges have increased calls for sustainable funding to support climate adaptation, land restoration, water management and climate-resilient farming practices.
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