The Africa Initiative for Transparency and Responsibility Leadership (AfriTAL) highlighted the significant impact of methane gas on global warming and heat waves during a recent roundtable discussion in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Dr. Ogbeifun Brown, AfriTAL’s Executive Director and Project Coordinator for the Methane Abatement Programme, emphasized the dangers associated with methane emissions and the urgent need for mitigation strategies.
Dr. Brown pointed out that methane, when released into the atmosphere, pollutes the oxygen supply, leading to premature deaths and exacerbating asthma-related illnesses. Methane is also a potent greenhouse gas, capable of trapping heat more effectively than carbon dioxide.
This trapped heat contributes to the intensification of heat waves and other climate-related issues.
To address these challenges, Dr. Brown called for immediate action to reduce methane emissions, starting with proper waste disposal practices.
He emphasized the importance of covering garbage cans and landfills to prevent methane release from decomposing organic materials.
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Additionally, Nosa Aigbedion, the South-South Zonal Director of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), identified various causes of methane production, including indiscriminate waste dumping, animal waste, and agricultural activities such as burning bushes during farming.
Aigbedion stressed the necessity of curbing anthropogenic activities that contribute to methane emissions, such as improving waste management practices and reducing the burning of organic materials.
He highlighted the government’s efforts to address methane production through policy implementation and environmental monitoring.
The discussion also featured contributions from Adam Heal of Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN) and Father Edward Obi of the Environmental Centre for Oil Spills and Gas Flaring, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among government agencies, civil society organizations, and communities to implement eco-friendly practices and mitigate methane emissions.
Overall, the roundtable underscored the urgency of addressing methane gas emissions to combat global warming and protect public health.
The participants emphasized the need for coordinated efforts to reduce methane production and promote sustainable environmental practices across Nigeria.
