An Environmentalist, Mr Gafar Odubote, has called for urgency in tackling the effects of climate change in Nigeria.
Odubote, a climate change enthusiast, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
He appealed to government at all levels to treat the issue of climate change with utmost urgency and not with lip service.
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“When we checked efforts in combating the effects of climate change in the country, we observed that the government had embarked on a lot of advocacy efforts.
“Nothing is really being done to combat the growing effects of climate change. The government needs to view the effects of climate change with an urgent necessity.
“The efforts government put and is putting to combat COVID-19 pandemic, should equally be put in addressing climate change. It should not wait till people start dying,” he said.
Odubote also called for a time-based action plan aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change in Nigeria as done in other African countries.
“We should not just stop at advocacy but we need to act. The government knows likely areas of greenhouse gas emissions and should provide a time plan to curb it.
“The cars release a lot of carbon into the atmosphere, while the industries that generate a lot of gas should be looked into.
“We need a sustainable plan to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we generate as a country to tackle climate change effects,” Odubote said.
The environmentalist called on other stakeholders to collaborate with government to educate Nigerians on the adverse effects of climate change on their health.