World Environmental Day: Gov Adeleke approves climate action plan for Osun

Forum 3 months ago

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has approved the State Climate Action Plan with a view to tackling rising cases of climate change.

He also approved immediate creation of the department of climate change to be domiciled in the Ministry of Environment to tackle the phenomenon headlong and inaugurated the Governor’s Climate Advisory Council saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the state government policy on climate change.

Unveiling the state government change agenda at the 2023 World Environmental Day held at the Local Government Service Commission, Osogbo, Chairman of the Advisory Council, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, said the agenda was meant to reduce risk and vulnerability to climate change, strengthen resilience, enhance well-being and the capacity to anticipate, and respond successfully to change.

The agenda is to ensure creation of a Department of Climate Change and renaming of the Ministry to Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. These two approvals are to raise the bar and affirm high level state commitment to climate goals.

“Osun Climate Action Act, which is the ultimate goal is to ensure the climate policy plan is transformed into an act of the State Assembly. This is to give force of law to climate goals across the sub-sectors.

“It will also ensure the creation of Climate Carbon Data Research unit at the Osun State University. This is to serve as a data bank of state Carbon credit resources for effective participation in the area of carbon credit and climate finance.

“Osun State Governor has taken bold decisions in the direction of sub-national entities taking an active and frontline role in the fight to save the planet from climate change. Hence, the decision to give the above, which include the creation of a State Climate Action Plan, the second in the country after Lagos State.”, he said.

Also, the governor in his remark, read by the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye gave the Ministry of Environment three months within which its action plan on reducing plastic pollution in the state should be ready for implementation.

His words; “I am further directing the Ministry of Environment to prepare an Osun State Action Plan Against Plastic Pollution. The plan must embrace local and international best practices alongside an implementation plan with deliverables.

“The plan must be ready within the next three months so that implementation must commence in the last quarter of this year. By the 2024 celebration of World Environment Day, Osun must have achieved milestones in concerted efforts to control plastic pollution.”