Lagos being a coastal city is prone to storm surges exacerbated by sea level rise and the rainy season. The resulting flooding are complicated by improper waste disposal, poor infrastructural planning and inadequate drainage systems. With that, we grapple with diseases, destruction of properties, disruption of businesses and children’s inability to go to school. The inefficient transportation system produces a high micromol of CO2 from the ubiquitous tricycles, cars, buses, trucks and trailers. The discovery of crude oil at Aje Well increases susceptibility to oil pollution, gas flaring and devastation of the ecosystem.
The Lagos State government is putting in place measures and legislations to turn the tide:
- Oil prospecting firms are made to take responsibility for spillage.
- Recycling of plastics are largely encouraged.
- Legislation to ban plastics is in the works.
- Parks and Gardens Agency is planting trees and creating green public parks and recreational spaces.
There is more to do:
- Embrace renewal energy, for every sector of the economy.
- Lagos Light Rail being built should be made eco-friendly.
- Electric car production should be encouraged and subsidised.
- Production industries should be made energy-efficient.
- Populace should be educated on the climate crisis and encouraged with incentives to go green.
Resource:
Adebayo Sojobi, Idowu Balogun and Adebayo Wahab Salami (2015). “Climate Change in Lagos State, Nigeria: What Really Changed?” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307940694_Climate_change_in_Lagos_state_Nigeria_what_really_changed.
Cover Photo: Sumner Shagari Sambo
Related posts:
My Climate Story: Lagos and the Climate Crisis
UK-Nigeria Climate Finance Accelerator High-Level Workshop in Nigeria
Voices of the Transition. Climate Change Communication for a Sustainable Future – September 30
To Fight Climate Change, We Need ‘Radical’ Lifestyle Changes From the World’s Wealthiest: Study
Africa Climate Change Fund
