An environment lawyer and treasurer of the Ado-Ekiti branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oluwaseyi Ebenezer has advocated the inclusion of climate change and environment protection subjects in school curricular across the country.
Ebenezer, who was one of the panellists at the just concluded 2021 NBA-SPIDEL national conference in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital stated this while speaking on the topic, ” SDG 13 ( Climate Action): Assessing Nigeria Progress.”
The conference had its theme as, ‘The Role of Public Interest in Governance in Nigeria’
She explained that when students are exposed to the study of the climate right from school, it would enable them to know the impact of climate change on society and also help in change of behaviour in the overall interest of the economy.
“There is a need to incorporate climate change and environment protection subject into the school curricula to help young people understand the impact of climate change and encourage them in changing some attitudes and behaviour. It will also drive innovation and a technology-based economy,” she said.
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Referencing the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020 by Yale Centre for Environmental Law and policy, Yale University, Ebenezer revealed that the country still has a lot to do in the area of climate change.
The Founder & CEO, Triple G Eco Revival Solutions Ltd said, “Using the environmental indicator, the environmental framework scored Nigeria very low based on our disaster risk preparation, food insecurity, urbanisation, the prevalence of infectious disease etc.
“Also, according to EPI 2020, a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world using ecosystem vitality and environmental health as indicators, Nigeria scored 150 out of the 180 countries assessed making Nigeria fall at the bottom end of the index report.
“Thus, using these two frameworks, it is saved to say that Nigeria still has a long way to go on environmental and sustainability issues.”
Proffering other solutions, she added, “Institutional Capacity: this is imperative for all stakeholders engaged in climate adaptation in Nigeria.
“There is a huge need to strengthen the climate change unit/agency under the various Ministry of environment and information and knowledge sharing must be made accessible to a wide range of people especially vulnerable people.
“Improvement in weather forecast and capacity building for farmers on weather information and forecast to enable them to know the weather so as to be able to cope and readjust to the adaptation strategies.
“And lastly, there is an urgent need to generate data and statistics that can enhance the effective climate actions monitoring and evaluation in the country.”
Panellist at NBA conference seeks inclusion of climate change subject in school curricula
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