The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government has commissioned a consultant to carry out a risk assessment of the state, explaining that the project is aimed at giving a robust evidence-based projection of localised climate risk and hazards expected to feed into the climate action plan.
The Sanwo-Olu administration is also partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and C40 Cities to address the climate change scourge, which has become a defining environmental challenge to the world.
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The governor disclosed this through Lagos State Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Aderonke Odeneye, while speaking with journalists in Alausa on Wednesday.
The permanent secretary revealed that Lagos State, UNDP and C40 Cities had clearly shown a commitment to the development and evolvement of a climate change conscious society in order to counter the global threat.
The state government disclosed that it has commissioned Messrs Geo-Solutions, an Environmental Consultant, to carry out the assessment, expressing hope that the risk assessment programme, which kicked off on September 7, would contribute in no small measure to the building of statewide understanding of climate change and its impact on the environment.
Odeneye added that the risk assessment programme is vital to strengthening Lagos State climate action plan and also central to achieving a more resilient system across the entire state.
“Experts cannot solve climate change issues alone, we all must work together with the government at the state and local levels to put an end to this environmental threat,” she said.
Odeneye added that individuals must cultivate habits that play important roles in mitigating the effect of climate change, which is now common knowledge, with its attendant rise in water bodies – oceans, seas, lagoons and rivers – which have resulted in flood ravaging the globe.
She also averred that residents must ensure a reduction in the greenhouse effect by shading houses and office buildings, noting that this would reduce the need for air conditioning by a high percentage and also reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned to produce electricity.
The permanent secretary observed that the risk assessment programme would ensure equitable distribution of the impact of climate change programmes, actions and policies together with indicators that could support monitoring and evaluation.
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“We all have a common interest and responsibility to harmoniously manage the use of our environment in a sustainable manner for the benefit of generations to come,” she said.
Odeneye pointed out that the programme is expected to provide robust evidence and projections of localised climate risks and hazards, while prioritising sectors and actions that would meet short, medium and long-term adaptation needs of Lagos State’s 2020 Climate Action Plan.
The permanent secretary said the programme is scheduled to cut across the 20 local government areas as well as the five divisions of the state, namely Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe, in order to arrive at a clear action and strategy for addressing climate risks and impacts.
By Tobiloba Kolawole
