The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has unveiled the ‘Fly2Green Nigeria Initiative’ to promote a green environment and commemorate the third year anniversary of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on the promotion of Clean Air for Blue Skies.
A statement by Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General, NCAA,
said that the Fly2Green Nigeria Program is the agency’s initiative to drive
collective net-zero accountability and eco-citizens responsibility to tackle
environmental pollution and climate change.
He stated that this could be achieved through green aviation
market-based measures that promoted eco-advocacy, eco-citizenship,
eco-volunteerism, eco-efficiency, eco-nnovation, eco-finance, eco-health
insurance, eco-tourism and ecosystem conservation schemes to boost the
contribution of national and regional aviation sector towards the achievement
of a 1.5°C future in Nigeria and Africa.
Nuhu hinted that through its incentive-based green travel
program and robust voluntary carbon emissions reduction scheme, Fly2Green
Nigeria was designed to map out a decarbonisation strategy for the Nigeria
aviation industry, domesticate the National Policy on Short-lived Climate
Pollutants (SLCPs) and implement.
He said NCAA would strategically partner with relevant green,
blue and circular economy stakeholders to launch the first Clean Air-Blue Skies
Advocacy Program in Nigeria tagged: ‘Clean2Breathe Nigeria,’ – a zero air
pollution advocacy campaign to boost local air quality against SLCPs.
The statement added: “It is the cardinal imperative of the
NCAA to activate climate-smart solutions for sustainable aviation through the
Fly2Green Nigeria Initiative; integrating the ambitions and long-term goal
aspirations of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation
(CORSIA) through market-based measures designed to mainstream ICAO’s Basket
Measures of Green Aviation to check the emerging climate emergencies of
Nigeria, while maintaining the “common but differentiated” responsibility
commitments of the Paris climate agreement.
“The NCAA looks forward to a national clean air policy
partnerships framework, as it positions the Fly2Green Nigeria program to launch
the Clean2Breathe Nigeria campaign as an aviation sector-led zero pollution
mobilisation tool to jumpstart national action and commitments to meet the
nationally determined contribution targets of Nigeria.”
Nuhu emphasized that Africa contributed only 3 per cent of
global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the continent was warming faster than any
other region in the world.
He pointed out that in the drive for collective
accountability and action to tackle environmental pollution and climate change,
the aviation sector has a huge role to play, stressing that the aviation sector
is among the top 10 global emitter whose emissions were expected to rise
dramatically by mid-century.
According to him, the industry is responsible for an
estimated 4.9 per cent of global warming and its climate impact was not
restricted to its CO2 emissions alone, noting that more than half of aviation’s
climate impact comes from non-CO2 pollutants.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated
September 7 of every year as the International Day of Clean Air for the blue
skies, with a view to raising awareness and mobilising global action to address
air pollution, which represents one of the biggest threats to human health.
The UN said air pollution is responsible for seven million
premature deaths yearly.
The 2022 edition of the programme is tagged: ‘The Air We
Share,’ and it focuses on the trans-boundary nature of air pollution and the
need for collective accountability and action, which requires collaborative
efforts from businesses, communities, civil society, academia, policymakers and
government to advocate, accelerate and activate climate-smart solutions for
net-zero emission footprint.
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