Lagos, Private Sector to Collaborate on Climate Change Action

Bennett Oghifo

The Lagos State Government has said it is poised to implement the Climate Action Plan it launched last year, in collaboration with the private sector.

The Climate Change Action Plan is designed to achieve a sustainable low-carbon and climate-resilient socio-economic development. It is a renewed effort to address the ravaging effects of climate change on humanity and the ecosystem generally.

The fresh commitment was made last Wednesday at the First Lagos State Climate Change Business Meeting organised by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, and attended by representatives of Dangote Cement, BUA Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Oando, Total, Sahara Group, Nestle, MTN, IHS Towers, Microsoft, Rites Food, Ikeja Electric, Mikano, Cummins, Julius Berger, Revolution Plus, and Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), among others.

Speaking at the business meeting, which theme was, ‘Integrating Climate Action in Lagos State Development’, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, said it was an understatement to say that climate change posed serious challenges to the environment, economy and livelihood, hence the need to scale up public-private sector collaboration to mitigate the impact.

He noted that the collaboration would be a win-win for all if the Organised Private Sector cooperated with the state government in the implementation of the Climate Action Plan developed as part of efforts to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on the state.

“In as much as we are aware of the threat climate change poses to the environment, economy and livelihood, we also need to begin to view climate change from prism of opportunities it presents in the area of job creation, attraction of direct investment, healthcare improvement, waste to energy initiative, sustainable infrastructure development and renewable energy investment,” Bello said.

The commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services,  Mr. Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen, also appealed to them to channel the cost associated with burning fossil fuels into renewable energy sources with potential savings made. 

While disclosing that residents and businesses in the state spend N14.4 billion daily, amounting to N5.3 trillion, annually on fossil fuel-powered alternative electricity sources such as generators, he lamented that high carbon emission from those sources could worsen the vulnerability of the state to the effects of climate change.

Bello, who quoted vital statistics from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory conducted by the ministry to ascertain the impact of emissions on the environment in the state, further stated that the energy sector was the highest contributor to greenhouse emissions. 

Although he acknowledged that the amount of electricity supplied to the state from the national grid was still low with the state receiving less than 12,000MWh daily from the national grid, representing about 6.25 per cent. 

He said, however, that when comparing the generator cost of N130/KWh with a grid cost of N50/KWh, it was a lot more cost-efficient for businesses and households to run on clean renewable energy.

“This value currently spent on non-renewable energy sources can be channeled into renewable sources with potential savings made,” the commissioner stated. 

He further assured the OPS members that there were opportunities in the environment sector through public-private partnership, noting that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has put in place policy and legal frameworks that promote an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. 

“We are in the decade of action; we need more than ever, collectively, to begin to mobilise necessary support and resources to embark on transformative actions on climate change, which will enable a shift towards green economic growth, development our adaptive capacity towards climate change and also achieve emission neutrality,” Bello added.

The Director, Environmental Planning, Mr. Bankole Michael, said the business meeting was aimed at galvanising private sector collaboration to tackle the challenges of climate change for the good of all, and that the state government could not do it alone. 

He noted that a collective action on environmental sustainability was of utmost importance in order to safeguard healthy living, preserve the ecosystem for economic prosperity and engender socio-economic development.

Michael, in his presentation further revealed that rapid rural-urban migration placed a demand on the government and private sector to address climate change issues because of the implications. 

According to him, an estimated three billion people were projected to live in the urban cities by 2050, a situation that could further aggravate the effects of climate change globally. 

“We must scale up action on environmental sustainability. This is the period of action,” he stated, while noting that we could not afford to lag behind the advanced countries, many of which, he said, have scaled up intervention on climate change. 

The General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe; General Manager, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency, Mrs. Toun Popoola; and Managing Director, Lagos Waste Management Agency, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, affirmed that their respective agencies were implementing various initiatives that promote climate change and environmental sustainability. 

In her contribution, the Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement,  Dr. Igazeuma Okoroba,  commended the state government for initiating the business meeting, describing it as a novel action to foster wider collective action in addressing the challenges of climate change.

She said the meeting came at the right time especially in light of Africa being the host of COP27 (Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Convention holding in Egypt in November, this year), adding that it was also significant because Africa was at a critical time when greater emphasis should be placed on the future of businesses and livelihood.

Others, who spoke around the theme of the meeting, expressed the hope that the fresh approach adopted by the state government would bring more effectiveness to climate change action because it added fresh local content flavour to the issue, while they all affirmed the commitment of their respective organisations to environmental sustainability and increased awareness and advocacy.