Climate Change: Western Countries Are Hypocrites, Can’t Dictate To Africa – Buhari

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has called out western countries for hypocrisy and failure to take responsibility in tackling climate change.

“Many of my peers are frustrated with Western hypocrisy and its inability to take responsibility,” he wrote in a Wednesday WashingtonPost article.

The Nigerian leader noted that western governments have repeatedly failed to meet their commitments to the $100 billion fund for climate adaptation and mitigation in the developing world “for the mess their own industries caused.”

He said western countries can no longer dictate to Africa how its resources should be used.

“Don’t tell Africans they can’t use their own resources. If Africa were to use all its known reserves of natural gas, the cleanest transitional fossil fuel, its share of global emissions would rise from a mere 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent,” he noted.

Africa contributes about three per cent to global emissions but is one of the regions worst hit by climate change.

“Don’t tell Africa that the world cannot afford the climate cost of its hydrocarbons and then fire up coal stations whenever Europe feels an energy pinch. Don’t tell the poorest in the world that their marginal energy use will break the carbon budget only to sign off on new domestic permits for oil and gas exploration,” Mr Buhari said.

He said such an attitude “gives the impression your citizens have more of a right to energy than Africans.”

-Premium Times