Africa deficient in climate resilience infrastructure, says expert
17 April 2024 |
1:35 am
Environmentalist, Grace Mbah, has re-echoed the need for a renewed strategy and investment in clean energy to avoid the catastrophic effect of exceeding the global mark for temperature level.
Grace Mbah
Temperature in North may rise to 50°C
Environmentalist, Grace Mbah, has re-echoed the need for a renewed strategy and investment in clean energy to avoid the catastrophic effect of exceeding the global mark for temperature level.
Mbah, who made the call, yesterday, in Lagos, said while Africa contributed less to carbon dioxide than advanced industrial nations, it would be badly affected due to a lack of efficient climate resilience infrastructure, if the effect became more severe.
The Co-founder and Executive Director of Climate Action Africa (CAA) warned that the North with temperatures beyond 45°C could experience up to 50°C weather and that Lake Chad could be further affected.
According to her, if Africa fails to do anything and acts like it is business-as-usual by burning fossils, it will be overwhelmed. Mbah noted: “The rain in 2021 and 2022 caused a massive flood in the South-South and part of Southeast regions of Nigeria and led to the death of many persons that are yet to be accounted for as well as destroyed property. During that period, there were rainstorms in Europe. But if that happens in Africa, it will be more devastating because we do not have the infrastructure.”
“Every year during the Conference of Parties (COP), figures are thrown up, but ask about the figures announced the previous year, there is no balance because leaders have not made a strong case that adaptation and mitigation are investments into our presence and our future.”
She lamented that while millions of dollars were pledged for other issues, the world pledges a paltry $100,000 to climate action, especially community-driven projects. “Climate change is unique to every community, which means that we must prioritise local and indigenous solutions to the problem.”
Warning that Nigeria is in a critical situation where it should not be felling trees, she said 75 per cent of the country’s population still cooks with unclean fuel; hence, they would still be cutting down trees till there is a transition to clean energy.
“The case for innovation has to be made. Firewood jollof is cherished by Nigerians; so, the only people who can innovate a clean cooking stove that will give Nigerians that taste are only Nigerians.
“Nigerian jollof rice is a national treasure, but that national treasure is putting our lives at risk, as 22 per cent of emissions in Nigeria are from energy, and part of that energy is cooking.”
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