Outcome of Bali: What Next For Nigeria?

The Conference of Parties (COP) 13 recently concluded in Bali (mid- December, 2007) brought together stakeholders all over the world. Many perceived the results not satisfactory but progress was made in two directions. First, agreement was reached regarding the operational details of the Adaptation Fund. An independent Adaptation Fund Board, whose membership shall be selected by the COP, was established to operationalize its financial mechanism.

Before then, the Adaptation Fund was managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and largely perceived to be difficult to access. The new administrative mechanism of the Adaptation Fund is a welcome relief to the developing countries as they no longer need to go through the so called “Implementing Agencies” such as World Bank or UNEP, rather can approach the Board directly to access the Fund to leverage their adaptation activities.

Secondly, COP 13 developed a Road Map that will lead to a new global climate change negotiation and treaty beyond the first stage of commitments under the Kyoto protocol which expires in year 2012, the purpose being to enhance long term cooperative action to address climate change. This plan would set an agenda for negotiations over a period of two years with the broad objective of promoting national and international greenhouse gas mitigation programmes in both developed and developing country parties. The processes for arriving at acceptable terms for the separate tracks of negotiation for developed and developing countries were and continue to be complex and difficult. These were as a result of intrigues, misunderstanding and North-South disagreements. Consensus was reached for developed world’s track of negotiation but for developing countries the issues in contention were whether “measurable, reportable and verifiable developing country mitigation commitment and action” contained in their own Article will be supported or not by ‘technology, financing and capacity building by developed countries’ (Muller, 2008).

On the short, medium and large term Nigeria as well as other developing countries has to set an agenda to meet climate change challenges irrespective of how the negotiations proceed. Advantage has to be taken of the new settings in the Adaptation Fund to purposeful devise adaptation activities in the country. This will support other on-going efforts such as the ‘Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change’.