The Director, African Climate Reporters, Dr Piman Hoffman, has appealed to all companies including refineries to plant trees annually to support government fight against climate change and desertification.
Hoffman made the appeal in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Kaduna to mark this year’s World Environment Day with the theme ‘Beat air pollution’.
The director said that the participation of all refineries in tree planting would help toward reducing the large quantity of emission in the atmosphere affecting the lives of both human and animals.
He added that there was the need for all African leaders to enact laws aimed at tracking emissions from refineries, textile and other industries.
Hoffman explained that there are six common pollutants apart from the release of emission from industries, which include ozone, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.
“It was reported that every year, approximately seven million people die prematurely due to air pollution and around four million deaths occur in Asia-Pacific.
“Air pollution is the number one silent killer in Africa that keeps claiming lives of citizens.
“It must be noted that, world environment day is a campaign established to bring some positive environmental changes all over the world to make life better and more natural.
“Environmental issues are big issues now a days to which everyone must be aware and give their positive efforts to solve.
“The world has already began to see the repercussions of climate change through increase in natural disasters, extreme weather events and shifting ecosystem characteristics,” he noted.
The director, therefore, called on every stakeholder to support in raising awareness as the world celebrates environment day. (NAN)
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