Amid the growing impact of climate change, stakeholders advocated the need to control population growth in Lagos to limit threats posed by climate change.
Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat led the call at a conference to mark the 70th birthday and retirement of Professor Babajide Alo, at the University of Lagos. Alo is a renowned expert in environmental management and professor of chemistry at the university.
The rally attracted the Oniru of the Kingdom of Iru, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Vice-Chancellor, UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Head of the Chemistry Department, Professor Olayinka Asekun and the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Elijah Oyeyemi, among others.
Specifically, the Deputy Governor, in a conference titled “The Role and Perspective of Government in Addressing Current Problems Related to Global Environmental Challenges,” said that environmental issues, global warming, deforestation, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), plastic pollution and flooding are caused by human actions, which trigger climate change and pose a threat to humanity.
He said that Lagos State, over the past 10-14 years, has taken climate change seriously by putting in place numerous policy frameworks and adopting global best practices to shape the government’s response to climate change challenges. climate change.
As the world’s population grows, he says, the earth does not, rendering society powerless as human activities devastate climate change.
He said efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint by adopting a compact urban plan, adding that the government is also establishing six air quality monitoring stations.
He said there was a deployment of decentralized renewable energy installations such as solar photovoltaic systems in schools, hospitals and municipal buildings.
Hamzat said: “We realize that as a very vulnerable coastal state with a rapidly growing population, we must act quickly to protect its fragile ecosystems and populations in low lying areas. Guided by the climate change scenarios and the goal of achieving zero net carbon emissions by 2050, we have identified a series of climate action plans in the energy sector respectively.
He revealed that the government plans to expand the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, deploy low-emission buses and provide vehicles on the outskirts of BRT traffic.
The monarch said inadequate support from citizens could prevent environmental policies from achieving desired effects in the country.
He insisted on people’s cooperation in environmental protection, stressing that the government alone could not do it as they rely on the support of citizens to protect the environment.
He looked at reducing carbon emissions and substances that emit carbon into the atmosphere.
Lawal denounced the traffic jams in Lagos State, saying it resulted in C02 emissions, which are harmful to society, and called for compact urban planning, to enable the government to deal with environmental crises.
Ogundipe congratulated the celebrant on his service to the university, saying he was among those who supported the reputation of the institution.
Speaking at the forum, Alo advised the government to deepen the domestication of relevant training, research and development as well as improve local content in all sectors of the economy.
He said: “There is a need to strengthen multidisciplinary research in our universities, for excellence in research and innovation efforts with a view to accessing more international grants.