The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to conserving the state’s coastline and developing sustainable infrastructure to combat climate change.
Kunle Adesina, spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, confirmed this in a statement issued on Monday.
According to the statement, Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, reiterated the promise while representing the state at the ongoing United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
According to Wahab, Lagos, as a coastal state, faces a number of climatic concerns, including increasing sea levels, heavy rainfall, and high heat.
“Lagos, as a coastal state, faces severe climate risks from rising sea levels, extreme rainfall and excessive heat.
“But we are not sitting back. We are building resilient infrastructure.
“As a state, we must face our realities and those realities are that we must build resilient infrastructure which is key and we must also take ownership of those infrastructures, which is very key,” the commissioner added.
Wahab stated that the state cleared primary and secondary drainage channels all year to lessen the risk of floods, and that 76 kilometres of trapezoidal drainage systems were built in the last two years.
He also addressed the state’s waste management changes, saying that Lagos produces over 13,000 tonnes of waste every day and is transitioning from a linear disposal model to a circular one.
He added, ”In the last two years, we have chosen to categorise waste as a resource, so we have transitioned from a pick-and-dump system to a more sustainable, climate-friendly system where waste is now a resource for wealth, a resource for energy; where waste is not just seen as waste anymore.”
