The Automobile and Touring Club of Nigeria (ATCN), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to motorsport and mobility, has planned an event with the goal of raising awareness about ways to lower carbon emissions from automobile sources.
ATCN President Ishaku Bamiyi said in his welcoming speech on the first day of the programme that the goal of the initiative is to reduce carbon emissions in the nation and promote a healthy environment, particularly in relation to the transportation sector.
Mr. Ishaku emphasised the need for a “multi sectoral partnership approach” to combat the threat posed by carbon emissions to the environment both domestically and globally.
As a result, he imposed a fee on participants to make use of the project to have “solution-based discussions” about how to lower carbon emissions.
Over 200 people attended the two-day workshop, “Promoting Net Zero Carbon: Reducing Emission From Automobile Sources,” which was part of the Federation International de Automobile’s (FIA) Sustainable Mobility Advocacy. It was held at the Musa Yar’adua Centre on May 31 and June 1, 2024.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru Aminu, said that “moving from carbon to zero carbon emission target has environmental benefits” for a healthy population and that “the electric vehicle in attaining net zero emission is crucial.”
Environmental health and pollution control director Bahijjah H. Abubakar, representing environment minister Balarebe Abbas Lawal, emphasised the urgency and decisiveness of responding to environmental threats to public health.
The minister declared that policy involvement was necessary because the “public transport system is the biggest source of pollution.”
In addition to his concern about global warming and the threat it poses to the Earth, he emphasised the need for collaboration, policies, and synergies “to close the knowledge gap on new technology towards cleaner energy.”
In the words of Engineer Jacob Ayuba, the director-general of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), “our planet faces unprecedented environmental challenges which do not only threaten the balance of nature but the [prosperity and well-being of the next generation],” which is why immediate action is required.
The founder of the Geological Society of Nigeria, Malami Uba Saidu, was among the speakers who praised ATCN for organising the event and stated that “gas and electricity are the two alternatives in achieving net zero emission.”
“The president’s directive that all official vehicles of government should be CNG-compliant is a significant step in this campaign,” he said, praising President Bola Tinubu equally.
Additional speakers included Dr. Nasamu Ibrahim of the Philosophical Society of Nigeria, Mr. Ashley Emenike of Wildlife and Nature Conservation, representatives of One Impact, which collaborated with ATCN on the programme, Abdulateef Bello, Director of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (FCT), the media, and non-governmental organisations.
The only FIA representative for Nigeria in matters of motorsport and transportation is the ATCN.