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7thLAGOS STATE CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT
COMMUNIQUE
PREAMBLE
The 7th Lagos State Summit on Climate Change was held from 21st -23rd April,
2015 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos with the theme: 7
Years of Climate Change Governance in Lagos State, Celebrating Success
Stories, Reviewing Challenges and Setting Future Agenda. The summit which
was partly sponsored by Total Nigeria PLC, British American Tobacco Nigeria
Foundation (BATNF), MRS OIL had in attendance over 700 participants and
stakeholders, comprising top political office holders, traditional rulers, top
Government functionaries at the State and Local Government levels, members
of the academia, organised private sectors, national and international experts
on climate change, non-governmental organisations, students from the
universities and secondary schools etc.
OPENING CEREMONY
The Summit commenced with a welcome address by the Honourable
Commissioner Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Mr Tunji Bello. This
was followed by goodwill messages given by the Deputy British High
Commissioner; Consular General Federal Republic of Germany, Netherlands
High Commissioner; President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN);
representative of Policy Advocacy Partnership Project on Climate Change
(PAPPCC); and the Regional Director for Africa C40 CITIES Climate Leadership
Group.
The lead paper titled Climate Change Governance Challenges and
Opportunities was delivered by Prof. Richard Beardsworth, Director of
Research Department on International Politics Aberystwyth University, United
Kingdom. He emphasised the importance of purposeful leadership in having an
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effective global response to the challenge of climate change as a global
common.
While declaring the Summit open, His Excellency, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola
(SAN), the Governor of Lagos State, noted that the summit will be the last for
his administration. He acknowledged the contributions of the immediate past
and present Honourable Commissioners for the Environment, staff of the
Ministry and various stakeholders who stood with the Government for the past
seven (7) years. He noted that since 2009 the climate change summit has been
a principal vehicle for attracting required attention to environmental
challenges of our time. He further stressed the need for mankind to reflect on
the threat posed by the continuous exponential growth of the world
population to the sustainable exploitation and use of natural resources. He
then highlighted the achievements made by the State Government in the past
seven (7) years in mitigating the effects of climate change. Most of the State
Government’s actions emerged from the outcomes of the Summits. Some of
these include:
(a) the Eko Atlantic City Project as an adaptation measures against
climate change-induced sea level rise;
(b) improved Waste Management and Transportation;
(c) the Lagos, Akute and Alausa Independent Power Projects which are
gas fired and which lead to the decommissioning of over four hundred
diesel fuelled electricity generators;
(d) planting of over 5 million trees;
(e) creation of over one hundred Parks and Gardens across the State;
and
(f) establishment of the Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency (LASPARK),
among others.
The Special Adviser to the State Government on the Environment, Dr. Taofeek
Folami, gave the vote of thanks
TECHNICAL SESSIONS
In the Eight Technical Plenary Sessions which followed the Opening Ceremony,
the following 26 papers were delivered by experts invited from Nigeria,
Scotland, UK, France, USA, South Africa, Canada, Egypt, and Cameroon. The
papers covered different aspects of celebrating success stories, reviewing
challenges and setting future agenda. The papers included:
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i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
xviii.
xix.
xx.
xxi.
xxii.
xxiii.
xxiv.
xxv.
xxvi.
Post COP 20 Peru Climate Change Conference; implications for
Developing Economy
Climate Change Governance, Challenges and Opportunities (Lead
paper);
Sharing Innovative Solutions in Climate Change Mitigation in Africa;
GPC and the Compact of Mayors;
From Waste to Wealth; Sharing PPP-Public, Private Partnership
Experience in Establishing and Operating Material Recovery Facility in
a Developing Economy;
The Lagos State Transportation Policy and Climate Change Mitigation
and Opportunities;
Mass transportation: the Panacea for Climate Change Mitigation in a
Developing Economy;
Public Transportation : Role in Responding to Climate Change;
Adopting Green Business for Sustainability Engaging Corporate Lagos;
Climate Change Mitigation: The Role of Financial Institutions;
Environmental Sustainability in the Extractive Industry: The Case for
Climate Mitigation;
7 years of Carbon Sequestration: The story of Tree Planting in Lagos
State;
REDD+ Country Model: Exploring Opportunity for Lagos;
Building resilience to Climate Change Impacts: BATNF and small scale
farmers at the frontline;
African Coastal Cities Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation
Planning: Current Status and Future Plans;
Climate Change Policy and Sustainable Development;
Community Energy as a Vehicle for Sustainable Development and
Combating Climate Change;
Offshore Energy for Sustainable Development in Lagos State;
Turning Liability into Assets: Taming the Challenges of Sea Level Rise
into a Vibrant City. The making of Eko Atlantic City;
Lagos State Master Plan: Sustaining the Built Environment;
Creating Resilient City;
Energy Poverty in Nigeria: Facts and Fiction)
Renewable Energy Solution to Climate Change/Solar Energy Solution
for Public Schools;
Developing Entrepreneurial Skills in Renewable Energy Potentials in
Nigeria. From a practical Stand point;
Total Nigeria: Bringing Solar Solutions to Nigeria;
Local Urban Climate in Lagos (LUCIL);
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There were also three breakout sessions during the Summit. These were on:
i.
Financial and Investment Models and Opportunities for Climate
Change Mitigation;
ii. Technology and Sustainable Innovations in Climate Change
Mitigation;
iii. Considerations for Capacity Building, Research and Policy
Interventions;
Each group deliberated extensively on their respective Subthemes as
delineated above and had outcomes of recommendations for Future Agenda.
OBSERVATIONS:
From the papers that were delivered, the Summit made the following
observations:
i.
Climate change is a global common problem in which all states and
people are involved as they are all affected irrespective of the
sources of GHGs.
ii.
Addressing the fundamenta challenge of climate change for
sustainable development and human survival is borne out of the
concern that “nature does not need people, people need nature”
(IUCN).
iii.
Sustainability is a new direction for firms to effectively and
profitability show-case their environmental consciousness.
iv.
There are many opportunities in the future of sustainable
development that is imperative for human existence and survival.
v.
Green economy makes a lot of business sense and going green is a
profitable business. It also provides new opportunity for global
cooperation in the area of promoting energy mix, including
renewables, for sustainable socio-economic and environmental
development.
vi.
Our civilizational challenges provide an opportunity to transiting to
green economic development path.
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vii.
Lagos, as a coastal city, is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate
change.
viii.
Rapid and unguided urbanization, poor institutionalization of public
mass transportation with unsatisfactory commuter/freight demand
are responsible for rapidly growing use of private vehicles in Lagos.
ix.
Mass transit is a key panacea to the provision of functional
transportation system in Lagos State in the face of rapid rate
population growth and the desire of dwellers to own their own motor
vehicles.
x.
Tree planting is an effective mitigation measure for reducing the
impact of climate change. Urban reforestation, in particular, is a
laudable approach to improving carbon sequestration of urban areas
and mitigating climate change-induced urban heat island.
xi.
Climate proofing agriculture and its resilience to variations in climate
is critical for sustainable food security in the state.
xii.
There are a number of research opportunities in climate change that
could support the state in its pursuit of sustainable development.
xiii.
Research outputs are not properly disseminated to policy makers for
appropriate decisions.
xiv.
Sectoral research approach to climate change issues remain the order
of the day.
xv.
Civil Society organizations have been active in advocating the
imperative for coherent state and national responses to climate
change.
xvi.
Eko Atlantic City Project is potentially an effective adaptive response
to mitigate the impact of climate change on the coastal city, Lagos,
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and the use of only private sector resources for the execution of the
Project is an innovative way to ensure its sustainability.
xvii.
Effective town planning is critical to sustainable urban development
and making cities climate resilient.
xviii.
Absence of a legally binding policy and action plan on climate change
at the state level is of concern.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Summit made the following recommendations:
i.
Government should continue to invest in climate change to promote
environmental sustainability and assured future for human existence
in the State.
ii.
Lagos as mega city must commit to addressing greenhouse gas
emissions reduction; including introducing Controlled Parking Zones
to deter the use of private vehicles and establishment of carbon
registry to monitory GHG emission levels, among others.
iii.
Lagos State should further enlarge its mass transit programme to
transit it into an integrated, coordinated and functional public mass
transport system, complimentary road furniture’s and a
comprehensive urban transport policy driven by empirical research
study.
iv.
Urban development should be controlled through appropriate
measures that will reduce dependency on motorised vehicles and
reduce the increasing need for urban infrastructure.
v.
Lagos State should continue to showcase the benefits of its tree
planting initiative, as a climate change mitigation and adaptation
measures to other parts of the country.
vi.
The State should look into the feasibility of enriching its remaining
forest areas in the context of REED+ to create financial value for
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carbon stored in forest, address the drivers of deforestation, enhance
its carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation, and even
provide additional means of livelihoods for the concerned
communities.
vii.
The State should develop a climate change information management
system in which all research outputs are catalogued and widely
disseminated on a regular basis.
viii.
Technology should be put in place to reduce GHG emissions from
waste in the State.
ix.
Youths should be encouraged and involved in the development of
climate change mitigation technology.
x.
The State should pursue a strategic alignment with the private
corporate organizations in the State in its fight against climate change
and promote research, development, demonstration and deployment
(RDD&D), particularly in the development of technological response
to the challenge.
xi.
Government should put into place a positive innovative, policy
environment and strengthen existing regulatory framework, including
tax incentives and governance mechanisms which will promote public
and private investment in climate change mitigation projects in Lagos
state
xii.
Lagos State Green Fund (inspired by the Lekki Free Trade Zone)
should be created to leverage funding from all sources – state,
federal, bilateral and multilateral financial institutions - to promote
green employment generation, investment, and innovation
xiii.
The State should establish a Lagos Green Eco-Innovation Forum that
will be mandated to spearhead efforts to promote and intensify
Nigeria’s (and African) efforts to meet Climate Change targets and
goals through entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
xiv.
The State should create a capacity building and mentorship training
programme to assist associations to have access to funding
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opportunities , and to intensify links and networks with institutions
that have expertise in climate change mitigation
xv.
The State should consider establishing a one day workshop in
addition to a more structured long term mechanism for ensuring
financing institutions play a more active role in climate change
mitigation funding
xvi.
Governments at all levels (Federal, State and Local) should fund
multi-sectoral research on climate change mitigation and adaptation
to enhance people’s understanding of the challenge and improve
their ability to exploit opportunities offered by technological
responses to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
xvii.
Lagos State should explore the feasibility of facilitating a national
summit on climate change, in collaboration with the Federal
Government, to share its best mitigation and adaptation practices
and encourage other States to join the national fight against climate
change.
xviii.
Government should continue to work closely with civil society
organizations in its fight against climate change.
xix.
Government should continue to support the African Coastal Cities
Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Project
towards making Lagos more resilient.
xx.
Relevant stakeholders should be involved on a continuous basis in
the execution of the Eko Atlantic City Project to ensure sustainability.
xxi.
Lagos State should ensure continuity in the implementation of the
model city plan within the existing legal framework to further climate
proof Lagos.
xxii.
Lagos State Government should explore the possibilities of
developing a framework for the construction of energy efficient
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houses for both low and middle income earning residents of the
State.
xxiii.
The government should consider the adoption of a state policy and
action plan within a robust legal framework to define its future
response to the development and environmental challenges of
climate change, as an example of what can be done for Nigeria.
xxiv.
The State Government should look into the feasibility of an EnergyPoverty Alleviation Fund to help provide modern energy services to
the poor and the needy in the state.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Summit expresses its appreciation to His Excellency, Mr. Babatunde Raji
Fashola, SAN and the Lagos State Government for continuously blazing the trail
on Climate Change mitigation and adaptation strategies in Nigeria and
unabating support through organising the various past Lagos State CC
Summits and particularly this Seventh Summit.
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