By TINA TIMOTHY

Civil Society advocates and environmental activists have called on the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty on behalf of the state government.

The call is contained in an open letter to Lagos State Government dated May 19, 2022, and signed by Olanrewaju Suraju.

The group also called for “sign-on” from partners, colleagues and activists.

The letter reads: “We, as civil society advocates and environmental activists, are writing to the Governor of Lagos State to support a just energy transition in Nigeria by endorsing the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty on behalf of the Lagos State Government.

“As a continent, and as a country, we are far from immune to climate chaos. In fact, the reality of climate injustice in Africa is that we have ‘only contributed 2 per cent of cumulative global emissions from 1890 to the present. Yet relative to other continents, it is projected to be hardest and fastest hit by climate change and to have the least resources to manage its consequences.

“The main culprits driving this climate emergency are coal, oil, and gas. "Fossil fuels are, by far, the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon emission and these trends are not abating. The world is currently on track ‘to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5C’

“This threatens our lives, our communities, our ecosystems and our economies. To stave off these threats, the world is moving in a new direction, one that is powered by renewable energy. More than 190 nations have become signatories to the Paris Agreement to limit emissions fuelling climate change. Countries such as Costa Rica, Denmark, Belize and New Zealand and many others are ending new licensing and placing moratoriums to phase out fossil fuel production. The Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, or BOGA, created by Costa Rica and Denmark, is a growing international coalition of governments facilitating a managed phase out of oil and gas in their countries.

“Our demands are:

“Endorsing the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty on behalf of the Lagos State Government.

“Popularising and democratising the electrification policy by Lagos State Government to involve all stakeholders and reduce the dependency on polluting energy sources such as diesel generators.

“Recognising and communicating the threat of the climate emergency to Nigeria’s coastal states, rally these states to support the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and pressure the national government to take action on equitable fossil fuel phase-out and a just energy transition.

“I hereby invite partners, colleagues and activists to join in signing a joint letter for Lagos State, through its governor to lead the, Nigeria’s just transition from fossil fuel by signing the global Fossil Fuel non-proliferation treaty. The link to the sign-on is here and copy of the letter also https://hedang.org/blog/sign-on-sheet-for-lagos-open-letter-on-fossil-fuel-treaty/”.

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