The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the National Council on Climate Change have unveiled a collaborative effort aimed at strengthening climate resilience in Nigeria’s housing and urban development sector.
This was disclosed in a statement by the ministry recently after a meeting between the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, and the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NCCC, Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe.
Maduekwe led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the minister’s office to discuss areas of mutual interest and partnership between the two agencies.
Highlighting the impact of urbanisation on climate change, Dangiwa noted that “urban areas contribute over 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with Nigeria facing an urbanisation rate exceeding four per cent annually.”
He emphasised the ministry’s commitment to sustainable housing initiatives, which align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13 (Climate Action).
As part of efforts to achieve these goals, the minister showcased the Renewed Hope Cities and Estate programme, which includes 10,112 energy-efficient and climate-resilient housing units across 14 locations nationwide.
Additionally, the National Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Project has successfully completed interventions in 86 out of 106 designated sites.
“The intervention under our slum upgrade is that of sanitation, roads, drainage, refuse disposal, and solar street lighting,” Dangiwa explained.
He reiterated his dedication to sustainability across all policies, programmes, and projects of the ministry, highlighting the ongoing partnership with the International Finance Corporation Green Buildings Programme, which began last year, as a key strategy in achieving these sustainability goals.
According to him, “Through the collaboration with IFC-EDGE, a workshop was conducted for all the ministry’s technical staff on green building and construction methods.”
Dangiwa also disclosed that the ministry had adopted IFC-EDGE’s innovative IT solutions to design energy-efficient buildings, optimise water usage, and reduce embedded energy consumption in housing projects.
“I also gave a ministerial directive that all ministry projects should be designed with efficiency in mind. These initiatives underscore our determination to align Nigeria’s housing sector with global climate adaptation and mitigation strategies,” he stated.
On her part, Maduekwe emphasised the crucial link between climate resilience and urban development and called for stronger collaboration between the National Climate Secretariat and the ministry to achieve shared climate goals.
She informed the minister that Nigeria was currently reviewing its Nationally Determined Contributions following approval by the United Nations to submit an updated version.
As part of this process, she requested the ministry to establish a climate change desk and nominate a representative to serve on the National Steering Committee, which will oversee the review of Nigeria’s NDCs.
