A lawyer and intellectual property expert, Peter Akpu has urged President Bola Tinubu to establish the Ministry of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Management while also suggesting that the government should appoint Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, (SAN), as pioneer Minister of Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainable Development ahead of 2030 SDG’s Agenda and Nigeria 2050 net Zero GHG emission agenda.
Akpu who made the call on Tuesday on his LinkedIn page profile as government sets to implement the Orosanye report 14 years after its submission to the federal government, contended that climate change, energy transition and sustainable development have become a matter of great discuss among countries and great economies of the world.
He said the effect of climate change, energy transition and the need for sustainable development has attracted the attention of the world powers and Nigeria shouldn’t be left out, adding that “Japan recently and in the bid to curb the effect of climate change provides assistance by introducing renewable energy, including solar energy, biomass and geothermal, and facilities with high-energy efficiency, to contribute to reducing GHG emissions.
“The implementation of Orosanya’s committee report will see to the scraping, subsuming, merging and relocation of several Ministries and agencies of Government which is a sort of the restructuring of the country. This present administration should be bold enough and strongly willed to establish the Ministry of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Energy transition,” he added.
According to him, Prof Olawuyi, (SAN), is an international lawyer, professor of law, arbitrator, author, and policy consultant with expertise in petroleum, energy and environmental law.
“In 2015, Professor Olawuyi was promoted to the rank of full Professor of Law at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria at the age of 32 years, becoming one of the youngest full professors of law in Nigerian history. He is Deputy Vice Chancellor,
Chancellor’s Fellow and Director of the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Afe Babalola University, Nigeria.
He holds the UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at HBKU Law School, Doha, Qatar where he teaches energy and environmental law courses. Professor Olawuyi provides legal services as a Senior Counsel and Arbitrator at McNair International Law Firm.
“Prof. Olawuyi is a visiting counsel to several Nigerian and global law firms where he provides high level professional legal support in accordance with International standard practice. A prolific and highly regarded scholar, Prof. Olawuyi has practiced and taught law in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. He was formerly an international energy lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Calgary, where he served on the firm’s global committee on extractive resource investments in Africa. He was also formerly deputy director and head of international environmental law at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Canada,” he added.
