‘Gas Flaring Key To Climate Change In N’Delta’

African Fellow in Climate Change, Dr. Nicholar Ozor, has identified gas flaring in the Niger Delta Region as the major contributory factor of climate change in Nigeria.

Ozor who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) made this known in Nsukka on the occasion of a one-day sensitization workshop tagged “Influencing Curriculum Development and Knowledge on Climate Change Issues at UNN and Environs.”

Dr Ozor said that the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere through gas flaring was responsible for the increase in temperature and pollution of streams and rivers.

His words: “Foreign Oil companies responsible for gas flaring in Nigeria know the harm. That is why they can not try it in their home countries. In western countries it is a serious offence for any company to be involved in gas flaring”.

He, however, explained that the objective of the workshop was to influence curriculum development in order to incorporate issues of climate change at the UNN.

According to him, Producing more manpower from higher institutions in the country will help tackle the problem of climate which he said, has become a global problem.

Speaking on the occasion, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, UNN, Prof Charles Igwe said that climate change had affected the agriculture sector by predisposing crops and animals to strange illness and diseases.

Prof. Igwe noted with regrets that already, there is decline in agricultural output which he said is currently posing a serious threat to achieving food security in the country.

“Crops are exposed to harsh climatic condition and animals find it difficult to get green pastures to graze”, further regretted.

Professor Igwe, however, urged Nigerians to deist from the habit of indiscriminate felling of trees, stressing that where it was unavoidable new ones should be planted as replacement.

Continuing, Professor Igwe maintained that “One of the ways to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxides is by planting trees around various homes as that will increase circulation of oxygen in the air”, he added.

Majority of the Participants at the workshop were drawn from Staff and Students of the university.