French Ambassador to Nigeria Jean-Nichel Dumond says his country will assist Nigeria in mitigating the effects of climate change on the people and environment.

Dumond disclosed this in Lagos on Sunday, saying the move was to ensure a sustainable environment that would strengthen closer diplomatic ties between the two countries.

According to him, climate change had become a global challenge in the developing countries and that it deserved assistance from the developed nations to tackle the problems associated with it.

Dumond said France would work closely with Nigeria in mitigating the effects of the climate change.

“France has always taken into account the interest of developing countries, especially Nigeria. Nigeria will be one of the countries to suffer more from climate change,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying.

“We are, therefore going to work closely with the government in having mitigated and adaptive structures on ground that will promote our diplomatic ties while the climate change lasted,” he said.

The envoy added that relations between the countries of the world would be affected with the prevailing climatic condition and stressed the need for the developed countries to support the less developed.

“Climate Change would lead to increase in pollution, transmission of diseases through unclean water and contaminated food as well as compromise in agricultural production in developing countries,” he said.

The envoy expressed optimism that adoption of forestation renewable energy, energy conservation and phasing out of the ozone depleting substances would mitigate the effects of climate change.

He said France would use her position in the European Union (EU) to make a case for Nigeria during the global meeting on climate change in Copenhagen in December.