Mitigate Effect Of Climate Change, Commissioner Urges

The Lagos Commissioner
for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, has called for more focus on a green economy necessary for mitigation and adaptation of effect of climate change in the state.
Bello said this at the annual Climate Change Summit held in Lagos.
The theme of the summit was “Exploring Business Opportunities in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Lagos State in Focus”.
The commissioner said the green economy being pursued through public and private investment would assist in reducing carbon emission and pollution.
He also said that it would prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the state.
“The aim of this summit is geared towards coming up with empirical solutions to the economic and business aspect of climate change.
“ We have implicit belief that at the end of it all, better adaptive and mitigating measures arrived at will present friendly environment for our business and economy, opportunities in tackling climate change issues’’ Bello said.
He called on stakeholders to come up with strategies that would inspire such an economy which protected the environment and gave support to the environmental industry.
In his speech, the Chairman Lagos State House Committee for Environment, Mr Abiodun Tobun called on the Federal Government to provide an enabling environment for private investors to invest in the state.
Tobun said there should be true practice of federalism by allowing states to make laws and generate their revenue and have laws peculiar to their terrain.
“We want foreign companies to come in and invest in our state. As such, an enabling environment must be created for them to invest freely.
Tobun called for an action plan to inculcate climate change in school programmes to ensure continuous awareness on the importance of adverse effect and presence of climate change.
He further advised that there should be a reduction in the carbon emission from vehicles and households activities by using other sources of energy.
Report says that the three-day summit was the sixth in the series.