By Muhammad Baqir
President Bola Tinubu has called on global leaders to unite and act decisively in tackling the escalating climate crisis.
Speaking at a high-level virtual summit, he emphasized, “The global climate emergency demands our collective, courageous and sustained leadership.
”The meeting, convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, gathered 17 heads of state from major economies and climate-vulnerable nations. The discussions aimed at accelerating climate action before COP30, set to take place in Brazil.
During the talks, Tinubu reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to aligning climate action with economic growth, stating, “For Nigeria, the urgency of this moment is clear: we view climate action not as a cost to development, but as a strategic imperative.”
Participants included representatives from China, the EU, the African Union (AU), ASEAN, and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
World leaders affirmed their determination to advance climate efforts without delay. From Abuja, Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), a comprehensive strategy targeting net-zero emissions by 2060. The plan focuses on five key sectors—power, cooking, transportation, oil and gas, and industry—requiring over $410 billion in funding by 2060.
“We are, therefore, in the process of aligning our regulatory environment, fiscal incentives, and institutional frameworks to ensure that energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness proceed in lockstep. We are also taking leadership on Energy Access,” he said.
Tinubu also emphasized Nigeria’s involvement in the Mission 300 initiative, a collaboration with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
The summit was part of a broader push by Guterres and Silva to reinforce the Paris Agreement and encourage stronger national climate pledges ahead of COP30.
Guterres described the closed-door session as one of the most diverse high-level climate discussions in recent times, sending a strong message of unity.
Speaking afterward, he stated, “As we heard today, the world is moving forward, full speed ahead. No group or government can stop the clean energy revolution.”
He urged leaders to present a clear plan at COP30 to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for developing nations by 2035 and stressed that developed countries must fulfill their pledge to double adaptation finance to $40 billion per year by 2025.
“We need significantly increased contributions and innovative sources of finance to support the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage,” Guterres added.
“Across all these fronts, we will keep up the push, including at a special event in September in the final weeks to COP30.”
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