Climate change may cost Nigeria between three and six percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2050, amounting to between $100 billion to $460 billion,the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite, has disclosed
The Minister,who cited a study conducted by the Department for International Development, Adegbite said the Nigerian economy, especially the agricultural sector, had been mostly affected, leading to reduced productivity.
Adegbite disclosed in a speech titled, ‘a New Order: Architects In a Climate Change Affected World’, he delivered at the two-day Symposium and Business Forum 2021 of the Association of Consulting Architects, Nigeria (ACAN) in Lagos.
He said the energy sector, which is critical to the growth of the economy, is equally impacted through the impact of the water level on the hydroelectric plants.”
He noted that climate change had become the 21st century most serious environmental hazard for engineers, architects and even world leaders.
He added:“The impact of climate change is becoming more visible by the day. Droughts, floods, erosion and desertification are worsening as a result of the global phenomenon.”
He noted that the United Nations framework convention on climate change defined it “as a change which is attributed directly to human activity that defers the composition of the global atmosphere over comparable periods.”
According to him, “One of the key mitigating solutions we need to promote is “green architecture,” adding, “this is an involving methods of minimising the negative effect built structures, have on their surrounding environment.”
Speaking, the President of Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Sir Gabriel Ajayi, commended ACAN for keying into the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) scheme of ARCON and urged other architectural professional associations to join the scheme.
He said ARCON was willing to support all associations within his umbrella to fulfill their mandate to the society.
