Environmentalists have urged Nigerians to use renewable energy as part of measures to mitigate the effects of global warming.
Gafar Odubote, Network Coordinator of Let’s Do It World’s Africa Region, made this known while addressing newsmen at the weekend.
Odubote told newsmen that the fight against climate change should go beyond reduction and include adaptation.
He said, “We can actively address climate change actions by engaging in climate change adaptation asides from mitigation. Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the current and future effects of climate change.
Read also: Oil chief says COP28 must leave no one behind
“It is completely different from mitigation, which is the prevention or limitation of climate change effects. With adaptation, we are not just reducing the greenhouse gas emissions but making it practically non-existent.”
Similarly, Toye Eniola, Executive Secretary of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria, stated that aligning with the global shift was a natural phenomenon and that those who refused to align would be left behind.
He said, “Our practitioners have no choice but to move with global change and one way to get this done is to critically understudy the rudiment of renewable sources of energy to know how and when to apply it. It is definitely inevitable and the global trend is the commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions for a safe and decent environment. A critical appraisal of the trend in relation to cost savings and a safe environment is the way forward for our practitioners for a proper guide to its adoption.”
Meanwhile, Odubote called on corporate organisations and individuals to adopt the use of renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, urging individuals to practise sustainable lifestyles to adequately adapt to climate change effects.
He explained that corporate organisations can begin climate change adaptation by adjusting their business models to adapt to climate change and reduce imminent natural disasters.
He maintained that the use of renewable energy sources instead of burning gallons of diesel to run their offices and machinery is one major way of adaptation to climate change.
“The time has come for us to start thinking of more ways we can adopt renewable energy as means of climate change adaptation” he said.
Continuing, he said, “Our building models should also be designed and constructed to adapt to climate change effects. The construction materials and the use of solar energy is paramount. Our infrastructural development should be tailored in line with climate change adaptation in mind,”.
The expert called for behavioural change among Nigerians in order to address climate change effects.
Story was adapted from Punch.
