NCAA Unveils ‘Fly2Green Nigeria Initiative’ To Combat Air Pollution
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.
