By Omoghene Benedict,
Community Development Advocacy Foundation, CODAF, a Non-Governmental Organization that specializes on environmental justice recently joined the rest of the world to protest against air pollution to protect the globe from environmental hazard caused by excess carbon dioxide and other toxic chemicals resulting to climate change.
In the protst tagged: ‘Climate Strike’ CODAF advocated for planting more trees in other regulate and control the resultant effect of the climate change and environmental degradation.
Addressing staff and students of Government College, Ughelli, the Executive Director of CODAF, Mr. Benin Richard said, “The global climate strike is in support of 16 years old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager who founded the ‘School Strike’ for climate’ in raising awareness of the risks posed by the Global warning and climate change and chat a way for positive action.
“We are already being hurt by the impact of climate change and if we don’t act now to transit fairly and swiftly away from coal, oil and gas to 100 percent renewable energy for all, things will only get worse and CODAF as an environmental justice foundation would support Greta Thunberg and other youths globally to act against the climate change.
Speaking further, Richard said, “The future is bleak because we are having environmental crisis on earth because we have too much pollution and problems which we need to correct that now.
In 2018, a young girl of 15 years, Greta Thunberg went to United Nations Assembly and said, the world must stop air pollution and the United Nations took that seriously.
And today we are commemorating that day as Greta Thunberg day of earth strike and all over Europe and the world, youths are on strike today protesting against air pollution but in Nigeria we don’t our students to miss your classes because we value our education and we don’t have the type of privileges students have in Europe, hence we left our abode to come and educate you all in your schools.
“In order for us all to reduce the effect of climate change, we must engage in tree planting to solve environmental problem by removing the excess carbon dioxide that is part of the climate change we are experiencing today. When we plant a tree, we will have enough oxygen to breath in.”
Responding, the Vice principal of Government College, Mr. Iroroturi E.D.J said, “Planting of trees as advocated for by CODAF and others around the globe to prevent climate change is a good thing and as you can see, if you enter the school you will notice that new trees are been planted and we will continue to do that.
“If the government is failing, we as individuals must not fail because we have our own life to live. We must encourage ourselves on tree planting because in doing so, more oxygen will be given and more lives will be saved.
Lady Mary Ideji, the Agricultural Science teacher of the school said, “CODAF has been able to educate our students and some of us on the resultant effect of Air Pollution, Climate change and we are now very much aware of the impact it would have on the larger environment if it continues without proffering any solution.
The planting of trees is one way out of the situation, continuous advocacy to intimate the lager society of the effect of air pollution. The government has a major role to play by encouraging the planting of trees and collaborating with cooperate organizations to proffer a lasting solution to climate change.
