The special adviser to the Lagos State Governor in the Office of Climate Change and Circular Economy, Mrs. Titilayo Oshodi, has said that Nigeria can harness part of the over $3 trillion in economic opportunities through the circular economy by 2030.
She disclosed this at the inaugural ESG Workshop organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on Climate Change and Circular Economy and the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning tagged Empowering Green Growth: Building Capacity for a Sustainable Circular Economy.
Mrs Oshodi disclosed that the event signifies a shared commitment to creating a prosperous and greener Lagos State.
She stated, “The economic opportunities stated in the Manufacturing Africa report on the Circular economy will be worth $3 trillion for us in Lagos, Nigeria, by 2030.
“So if I say $3 trillion of economic opportunity and if we can proliferate and develop the circular economy, the green economy space industry, which sits on waste management, sits on renewable energy, sits on green technology and agriculture, then, it speaks a lot to the potential and what we are, allowing to slip through our fingers.”
She affirmed that an average home in Nigeria could generate revenue from the minimum amount of 5 kg of waste generated daily with the commercial rate of 1 kg of PET plastic bottles sold for N600.
She added, “Lagosians can begin to proliferate the opportunities to generate extra revenue into their pockets within households, as existing businesses trade in exchange for value on those waste materials.
“Hence, the ESG workshop is at the forefront of a movement aimed at redefining the economic frameworks through the principles of circular and green economies.”
Oshodi affirmed that the programme is targeted at Nano, micro, and medium-scale businesses, helping them to understand the quality, knowledge, and ability to gather data around the economic, environmental, social, and governance reality that would give them leverage to gain carbon credits.
In his address, the Lagos State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Ope George, represented by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor, Lekan Balogun, said, “The challenges of our time—climate change, environmental degradation, and economic inequality—demand deliberate, strategic action.