The Lagos state government has set the target of reducing methane emissions in the state by 15% to 20% in 2030 and 45% in 2035.
The Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo Olu disclosed this during the Local Climate Action Summit – a side conference organised by the Sub-national Climate Action Leaders Exchange (SCALE) at the ongoing 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
He said Lagos independently invested personal funds to double its efforts in material waste recovery, resulting in a waste processing capacity below the specified benchmark.
The Governor noted that there is an emphasis on the necessity for Lagos to establish infrastructure capable of processing 6,000 to 8,000 metric tonnes of public waste daily to mitigate organic methane emissions.
In his words,
- “As a sub-national, Lagos has put forward efforts to ensure we sort the waste at the dumpsite and isolate methane emission. We have set up a target, which aims at cutting methane emissions by 15 to 20 per cent in 2030 and by 45 per cent in 2035.”
- “However, we will not be able to achieve global methane pledge if we don’t get the support we require. If there is no honest conversation with real partners at the COP level, our present efforts might take time to get the desired result.”
Lagos’s big waste management problem
According to the Governor, Lagos state produces 13,000 tonnes of metric waste daily, and about half of the generated waste emits methane gas.
He explained that the challenge in Lagos alone is twice that of the Dominican Republic and Santiago City in terms of organic waste management.
He said,
- “Since Lagos carries twice the problems of two cities. We need to get twice the support to address the gap and bring about a solution.
- Our political will to cut emissions is fully supported by the regulatory framework to do what is required of us.
- As a fast-rising economy in Africa, we need all the support of industrialized economies. Any success in any part of the world without African success would amount to little progress”.