Nigeria risks losing $450bn to climate change – Report
Nigeria risks losing $460 billion due to climate change by 2050 if urgent actions are not taken to curb its adverse effects. This was disclosed in a new Agora Policy report titled ''Climate Change and Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria.'' The report showed Nigeria lost $100 billion to climate change in 2020. It identified the different channels through which the adverse effects of climate change could worsen in Nigeria and further compound the country's developmental challenges. Waziri Adio, the founder of Agora Policy, stated that though some individuals, organisations, and government agencies are implementing consequential climate interventions in the country, climate change is yet to get the attention it deserves. "Both in official circles and among the populace, climate issues are not considered important and urgent. Our national attitude oscillates between denial and indifference, he said. On his part, the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development, Prof Chukwumerije Okereke, stated that 25 million Nigerians are at risk of flooding and 630 square kilometres of land are susceptible to flooding along the Niger-Benue basin in the Niger Delta area. According to him, the direct estimate of damage and loss from flooding in 2022 is N1.48 trillion, while the total damage and loss, including indirect ones, due to the flooding is about N2.6 trillion.