The federal government on Tuesday said it remained committed to reducing carbon footprint in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
The government said Nigeria was in full alignment with the project by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on “Leave no Country Behind”, and was fully carried along by developed countries in the transition processes.
But it lamented the cost implications of transitioning into the Greener Aviation industry.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, made the disclosures when he received members of the House Committee on Aviation at the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development headquarters, Abuja.
While pointing out that Nigeria accounted for only 2.5 per cent of global CO₂emissions as of 2015, Keyamo said, “As a Third World country, we face major limitations in investing in infrastructure and research for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), even though it is part of our mandate.
“Most developed countries have made limited progress in producing SAF due to lack of market demand and most aircraft are still manufactured to run on fossil fuels. It would be very expensive to modify existing aircraft engines to be compatible with SAF.”
The aviation minister explained that the sector’s agencies were working assiduously on initiatives to mitigate the effect of climate change.
Keyamo said some of the initiatives included production of Seasonal Climate Prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and participation in Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
As a result, the carbon footprint for Lagos airport was reduced by six per cent in 2021 due to improved energy management, earning the airport a Level 2 ACA accreditation (Reduction), he stated.
Keyamo added that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was actively addressing climate change through initiatives, like the “Fly2Green Nigeria” programme to promote Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and collaborate with the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) to facilitate cleaner aviation energy.
Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change, Honourable Chris Nkwonta, emphasised the financial burden of transitioning to greener aviation.
Nkwonta said the committee had discussed that with the United Nations, stressing the need for international support to help developing nations meet climate change targets.
He also stressed the need for conscious steps to decarbonise the sector as much as possible through the innovative use of less emitting fuels and carbon trade-offs; green infrastructure at the airports; sustainable waste management practices, among others.
Nkwonta called on airlines to invest in buying carbon credits to offset their carbon footprints, saying the funds from there can then be used to invest in more sustainable energy sources for the country and even in climate-smart agricultural practices that can help address food security issues.
Kasim Sumaina
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