From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Federal Government of Nigeria has urged universities to join hands in promoting evidence-based research on climate change and renewable energy solutions to support its net zero green transition pathway by 2060.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, who made the call at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, during the bi-annual international conference organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences on Wednesday, stated that the Federal Government is dedicated and committed to building resilient communities that can cope and adapt to the impacts of climate-induced vulnerability while promoting just, equitable, and inclusive growth pathways that leave no one behind.
Speaking on the theme “Accelerating climate action for sustainable livelihood in Nigeria,” Lawal, who was the keynote speaker, spoke virtually through a director in the Ministry of Climate Change, Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, noting that the ministry has launched the Green School Initiative, a programme designed to promote environmental awareness and sustainability within a school environment, with the aim to educate students and staff about environmental issues, reduce the school’s environmental footprint, and encourage sustainable practices both within the school and in their personal lives.
“On climate-related research and university collaboration, the Ministry, as the focal Ministry for the WASCAL initiative in Nigeria with the WASCAL Governing Board, has established two competence centres at the Federal University of Technology Akure and Federal University of Technology Minna, respectively. Thus far, WASCAL has successfully graduated 28 PhD and 19 Nigerian Master’s students.
“This, in monetary terms, is valued at over two million euros (€2,000,000). Also, the Ministry is involving the academia in developing most of its climate policies and framework.
“I call on the university authority to collaborate with the Ministry in promoting evidence-based research on climate change and renewable energy solutions to support our net zero green transition pathway by 2060,” Lawal said.
The Vice Chancellor of OAU, Professor Adebayo Bamire, who declared the three-day international conference open, noted that the Faculty of Social Sciences of the university stands uniquely positioned to address the human dimensions of climate change.
He said: “No single institution can address climate change alone. This conference brings together researchers from across Nigeria and beyond, policymakers from various levels of government, representatives from civil society organisations, and leaders from the private sector.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the Host and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences of OAU, Professor T. O. Odekunle, explained that stakeholders were deliberately invited to brainstorm and come up with concrete actions that will guarantee sustainable livelihoods under a highly variable and changing climate.
“The most critically impacted sectors in Nigeria’s economy are agriculture, water resources, natural resources productivity, biodiversity and ecosystems, health, land use, energy, transport, industry, human settlements and migration, and the coastal belt.
“The adverse impacts of climate change on weather patterns often result in droughts, floods, and desertification, affecting agricultural production and food security, access to clean water, and livelihoods. Livelihoods are one of the most at-risk dimensions to climate change because they depend on the diversity, health, and productivity of ecosystems and humans,” Odekunle said.