SRADev: Media, CSOs must fast-track Nigeria’s shift to climate-safe cooling

The Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev) has urged the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to lead the charge in advancing Nigeria’s transition from ozone-depleting substances (ODS) to climate-friendly cooling technologies.

SRADev is a non-governmental, non-profit think tank in environmental health research and development.

Speaking during a national webinar series on the Montreal Protocol, Leslie Adogame, the executive director of SRADev, said the media and CSOs are essential drivers in closing the country’s critical awareness gap on climate-damaging refrigerants and fast-tracking the implementation of Nigeria’s environmental commitments.

The webinar was part of the activities to commemorate the World Environment Day and was attended by environmental advocates, journalists, and international partners from countries such as Brazil, Kenya, and Chile.

Adogame said the media remain a pivotal component in the process of accelerating compliance, enforcement, and support for government actions.

“There is still a knowledge gap in the public understanding of these substances. Please take note, not only the media, not only the civil society, but we all have this problem of a knowledge gap,” Adogame said.

“We have only just chosen at this meeting a sector that we want to, you know, highlight more on the issues.

“We have a knowledge gap in government, we have in the research institutions, we have in academia, and every so, it’s just important that we take it step-by-step.”

Nigeria is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment and is bound to phase down HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), potent greenhouse gases with high global warming potential.

Adogame said while the federal ministry of environment and its national ozone office are at the helm of fulfilling the obligations, civil society and media must act as accelerators.

He lamented that the widespread knowledge gap is prevalent across all sectors not just the public, but also within government agencies, academia, and even media institutions.

“This is not a problem for civil society or the media alone. There is a knowledge deficit everywhere, and we must confront it step-by-step, starting with understanding the importance of fast action on ODS and climate-friendly alternatives,” he urged.

He stressed the need to demystify complex environmental concepts, particularly the role of sustainable, green, and energy-efficient alternatives in the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector.

Adogame further outlined key environmental issues requiring media and civil society engagement such as strengthening Nigeria’s commitment to phasing down HFCs, addressing the controversial and unresolved issue of HFC-23 emissions and mobilising stakeholders across industry, policy and retail sectors.

He pointed that facilitating public discourse on rising nitrous oxide emissions, an emerging threat not yet under strong regulatory control are essential ways media is also part.

“The goal is to demystify complex environmental concept to amplify urgency of fast action in the reduction of gas emissions and ODS and reporting properly because it is the appropriate reporting of this that concretize the public that enables the public to understand how to support the government,” he said.

Adogame called on journalists, bloggers, content creators, and communication professionals to recognize their power in shaping public understanding and catalyzing environmental change.

“Who are the targets at this at this meeting? It’s basically you, the reporters, the editors, the journalists, you know, the bloggers, the content creator. You know we are in a new era right now. We are messaging. It has a constituency,” he added.

“And you know, the key message needs to be directed and amplified through different portals and different media advocates.

So, communication specialists like you and all of you, CSOs, we are all in the game. So, we look forward to a very fruitful meeting. It’s going to be a bit participatory, as you have seen, excuse me, in the agenda as designed.

He further reaffirmed SRADev’s commitment to working collaboratively with both national and international partners to fulfil Nigeria’s environmental obligations.