The European Union, (EU) has urged the Nigerian Government to ensure that it fulfills its commitment to stop gas flaring by 2030.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and West Africa Michel Arion, stated this on Thursday during a film presentation on Nigeria’s environmental and climatic challenges at the Government House in Kaduna State.
He reiterated EU’s continuous support to Nigeria and other vulnerable developing countries in Africa to fight climate change.
While stating that a substantial amount of fund would be deployed to tackle environmental pollution as gas flaring and deforestation, Mr. Arion expressed confidence that the reduction of gas flaring and other environmental challenges would mitigate the effects of climate change in Nigeria.
He also explained that climate change does not affect Africa alone but the entire universe, and that climate change is compatible with economic growth.
He however, stressed the need for the Nigerian Government to come up with effective laws and policies to deal with environmental issues.
The EU Ambassador also emphasized the need for Nigeria to improve its electricity supply which he says will reduce climate change.
Every year, Nigeria loses about 351,000 hectres of land to emerging desert encroachment. In the northern part of the country, deforestation and desert encroachment are some of the major problems that people from the region are battling with. It is the same situation in the southeast where many communities are facing eviction due to erosion.
In the Niger Delta region, gas flaring, oil spillage and ocean surge are also posing a major environmental and health challenge, while population explosion has also led to increased quest for land farming and grazing of animals.
In all these, fishing, farming and other human activities are affected.
According to environmental experts, Nigeria accounts for one sixth of gas flaring in the world, and this is they say is largely responsible for some health issues like cancer and leukemia.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, stressed the need for every citizen to understand the dangers of climate change and how to mitigate it.
He expressed fear that the level of desert encroachment and desertification in northern Nigeria, if not curtailed by relevant authorities, could pose a major environmental challenge in the region.
To address these challenges, the Governor explained that his administration has launched a tree planting campaign with over one million trees already planted across the 255 wards in the state to checkmate afforestation.
Source: News Express.
*Photo shows Michel Arion
