Senate moves against climate change, increasing gas emission

Apparently disturbed by the high rate of gas emission in the country with its attendant adverse effect on the climate, the Senate has concluded plans to organize a National Green Summit on the way forward to the national issue.

Speaking with journalists on Monday in Abuja over the development, the chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Lawal Hassan Anka (APC Zamfara West), disclosed that the summit will have “Collective Action for Gas Emission Reduction and Climate Change Mitigation in Nigeria” as its theme.

Senator Anka, who disclosed that the event would be held in August in Abuja, explained that the move was aimed at finding a lasting solution to the imminent environmental disaster.

He said Nigeria is a high net gas emitter and has consistently ranked among the 10th highest gas emitting countries in the world.

He said: “We are currently the seventh-largest gas flaring nation in the world, this combined with other emission sources like oil spillage and non-oil sector, notably agriculture, transportation and power sector.

“Cumulatively, the country has witnessed the Lake Chad Basin rapidly drying up and the entire country has also been assailed by climate-induced conflicts leading to high human casualties and unquantifiable material losses.”

Senator Anka said it is as a result of this development that the National Green Summit has been put together for stakeholders to brainstorm on the way forward.

The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour (which all occur naturally), and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic), according to reports.

Greenhouse gases have far-ranging environmental and health effects, causing climate change by trapping heat and also contributing to respiratory disease from smog and air pollution.

Other effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gases are extreme weather, food supply disruptions, and increased wildfires.