By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Engr. Hassan Musa, on Tuesday (yesterday) said the Federal Government, through the Ministry is poised to expand the landscape of reasoning through generated policy frameworks capable of confront emerging menaces for a new global environmental renaissance.
Speaking at the Sixteenth National Council on Environment in Abuja, he acknowledged that it is for this purpose that the meeting is of immense significance to Nigeria and the global community.
According to him, the pursuit of zero emission is the new pursuit towards global environment renaissance, adding that the theme has been carefully chosen to reflect the reality of what seems to be an unnecessary hype by a lay man.
Yet with fundamental consequences already routing our communities at such a catastrophic dimension that the continuous comfortable existence of humanity is already been threatened, he added.
He said: “This has necessitated a wakeup call for action world over for conscientious efforts towards pursuing a systematic and continuous reduction of greenhouse gas emission until a possible achievement of a net zero emission in the world is achieved.
“Evidenced by the extreme weather conditions around the world, increasing natural disasters such as heat wave, flooding, unabated desert encroachment occasioned by long time of drought, loss of forest cover and fresh water leading to acute imbalances in the ecosystem, explosion of weather related diseases, human crises as a result of migration of herders in the course of struggle for survival on the left over of natural base of life, this pursuit is a noble choice and suffice to say that the world have no option in this circumstance if the world would be kept habitable for us and the unborn generations.
He said the government is not only fully committed to the ideals of good governance but very mindful of the goals of environmental sustainability, a major objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to him, there is a global consensus that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of the extreme weather and climate events that are affecting us all.
“However, our reliance on climate-sensitive natural resources and development gaps are at the greatest risk of climate hazards.
“It is well established that if left unattended, climate hazards will increase poverty, worsen inequalities, exacerbate food insecurity and cause health problems, amongst others.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a testimony to the global commitment to building climate change resilience for sustainable development by addressing all major forces that exacerbate this gradually evolving damning challenges as efforts are made towards ensuring that all production forces are preserved and resources resilience is built for sustainable national development.
“It is for this purpose that this gathering is of immense significance. we are poised to expand the landscape of reasoning and generated policy frameworks capable of confronting these emerging menaces frontally.
“It is in this regard that I implore us to seize this opportunity to jointly address these issues through our submitted memoranda and other matters that may arise in the course of our engagement.”