Subsidy removal will lower carbon emissions – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that eliminating gasoline subsidies will cut carbon emissions in the country.

Shettima made the remarks on Monday at the National Council on Climate Change’s one-day workshop titled “Unpacking the Outcomes of the 58 Sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

According to Shettima, Nigeria is expected to avoid more than 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in a single year.

Shettima, who was represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan, his Deputy Chief of Staff, stated that Nigeria was on track to meet the nationally agreed contribution targets.

“At the onset of this administration, President Bola Tinubu took the bold step to put an end to the petrol subsidy. Preliminary analysis conducted by the National Council on Climate Change on the co-benefits of fuel subsidy removal indicates that there has been about a 30 per cent reduction in daily fuel consumption, amounting to about 20 million litres, equivalent to an estimated daily saving of 42,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

“When projected over one year, it amounts to over 15 million tonnes of CO2 saved, representing about 40 per cent greenhouse gas reduction from the baseline projection of 45 million metric tonnes of total GHG carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. This places Nigeria on course to achieve our NDC targets ahead of time,” he said.

Dr Salisu Dahiru, Director General of the NCCC, stated that Nigeria must appropriately prepare for COP28 and other statutory meetings.