Group launches climate-tech startup labs against flooding, others - Guardian Nigeria
Group launches climate-tech startup labs against flooding, others | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News - Nigeria - The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News
Group launches climate-tech startup labs against flooding, others
[FILE] A photo shows a submerged building along the East-West highway severed by flooding, bringing to a halt the movement of vehicles and economic activities, in Niger delta region of Ahoada, Rivers State, southern Nigeria, on October 21, 2022. – More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to a new toll released on October 20. The disaster had also forced more than 1.3 million from their homes, said a statement by Nigeria’s ministry of humanitarian affairs, released on Twitter. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)
A Group, Climate Action Africa, has launched CMA Labs to address issues of climate change, including severe droughts, flooding and escalating agricultural challenges.
Co-founder and team lead of the group, Grace Oluchi, who addressed the media in Lagos, said Climate Action Africa took the bold steps to launch CMA Labs, an innovative hub dedicated to supporting the development of the climate-tech startup ecosystem in Africa.
According to her, climate change poses significant threats to Nigeria and Africa’s environment and economy, needing urgent and sustainable solutions.
Through CMA Labs, Oluchi said the group aims to pioneer a thriving climate-tech sector that harnesses latest scientific and technological advancements to combat greenhouse gas emissions, protect the environment and ensure Africa can feed itself and power itself sustainably.
“Our mission is to pave the way for a more sustainable future for all Nigerians and other countries on the African continent. With a strong focus on data-driven decision-making, CMA Labs is developing an innovative data aggregation platform.
“This tool will pull in diverse data sources, enhance predictive modeling, and enable effective data analysis to aid organisations in understanding the impact of natural disasters across the country and empower stakeholders to make informed choices about climate-related issues,” Oluchi said.
She called on the Nigerian government to co-create with industry stakeholders an enabling environment that supports climate-tech organisations and startups in developing sustainable solutions.
Also, the chief executive officer of the group, Alice Eze, said one of the most pressing challenges is lack of environmental data for organisations.
She stressed that CMA Labs strives to bring transparency to such entities with vested interests in Nigeria, helping them understand their carbon emissions, environmental impact, and effects of their operations on the environment.
According to her, “Our efforts include fostering collaboration with startups to develop innovative technologies that mitigate the worst effects of climate change.”
She noted that the scourge of plastic pollution affecting Nigeria’s farming industry has driven the group to run successful campaigns, adding: “We are working with organisations capable of extracting polymers from discarded materials, such as lobster shells, potato starches, and corn husks, to create biodegradable food packaging.
“Adding value to the circular economy, we would mainstream innovative tools and processes that perfect our waste management processes and bring about increased use of biodegradable materials, which have positive impacts on our environment.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”