Buhari signs Paris Agreement on Climate Change

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Paris Treaty on Climate, an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020, during the 71st United Nations General Assembly, taking place in New York.
The agreement which prescribes a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change impact by limiting global warming to well below 2°C is due to enter into force in 2020.
Amina Mohammed, who broke the news on her Twitter handle, earlier said that Nigeria’s president had a bilateral meeting with Ban Ki-moon UN general secretary hours before the agreement was signed.
Prior to Nigeria’s signing yesterday, as of September 2016, 187 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, 60 of which have ratified it.
According to the terms of the agreement, it will only enter into force provided that 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions ratify, accept, approve or accede to the agreement.
While the minimum number of ratifications has been reached, the ratifying states do not produce the requisite percentage of greenhouse gases for the agreement to enter into force.
Geoffrey Onyeama, foreign affairs minister last week said that president Muhammadu Buhari would, during his participation in the 71st UN General Assembly, sign the Paris Treaty on Climate, Foreign Affairs Minister at a press conference in New York.
A statement sent out to the press and signed by Akinremi Bolaji, spokesman for the Nigerian Mission to the UN, and released in Abuja assured the international community that Nigeria would support a new UN Secretary-General that would be development and Africa-friendly as well as sympathetic to the course of Nigeria.
He reiterated Nigeria’s commitment towards the Ogoni clean-up and stressed that it would host a high level side event on Climate Change, to showcase its efforts. He also stressed that Nigeria is working hard to deepen diversification of its economy.
“With the fall in oil price, Nigeria is looking into diversification of its economy towards agriculture and solid minerals. “It is expected that there will be a lot of investment opportunity for foreign investors during the US-Africa Business Forum, scheduled to take place next week in New York,” he said.