Speaking at the 29^th Annual Conference of Nigerian Environmental Society (NES) in Benin, Edo state, His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva noted that Nigeria as a nation faces an array of environmental tests which boils down to the fundamental challenge of making enlightened decisions that will place people and the planet on course for a better future.

The Honourable Minister also noted that Nigeria as a nation is faced with the daunting challenge of curtailing negative environmental impacts, including climate change impacts and therefore advocate for a holistic and pragmatic approach to the environment issues.

According to the Minister, “environmental challenges are complex and interlinked, not only in themselves but also with social and economic issues. Therefore, solutions for one problem can lead to unintended negative consequences, or create new environmental or socio-economic problems”

Chief Timipre Sylva called on all stakeholders to work together and be united in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement which in them, are the answers to our common prosperity and the future for all of us in changing the narratives of our environmental needs as a sovereignty.

He appealed to the global governments to make the Paris Agreement functional by taking action to address the technicalities and ensure that the agreement have environmental integrity, have mechanism that supports reaching its temperature goals, fair and applicable to all, and that Nigeria and other developing countries should not be put to a competitive disadvantage.