Owerri: The Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Innocent Barikor, has warned of a looming environmental disaster unless Nigeria urgently shifts from destructive linear production models to a circular economy. Barikor delivered this cautionary message during a South-East zonal workshop on ‘Introduction to Circular Economy and Green Financing’ held in Owerri. Represented by the South-East Zonal Director of NESREA, Mr Nosa Aigbedion, Barikor highlighted the imminent threat posed by relentless resource exploitation without recovery, which jeopardizes future survival.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Barikor emphasized the importance of transitioning to a circular economy by moving away from the traditional take, make, use, and dispose model. He stressed that the green economy serves as a crucial framework for promoting energy efficiency and economic growth while prioritizing environmental protection and reducing carbon emissions. Barikor also warned that if continuous exploitation persisted, ‘there will be nothing to take away again.’ He called for strategies to eliminate waste, reuse materials, and recycle resources to prevent further degradation.
Speaking subsequently in his capacity as Zonal Director, Aigbedion urged industries to adopt zero-to-landfill strategies to avert catastrophic environmental degradation. He described the circular economy as focusing on a zero-to-landfill approach, where waste generated from production becomes raw material for new processes. Aigbedion criticized open-air burning practices and advocated for the use of industrial incinerators to convert hazardous waste into usable ash for sectors such as cement manufacturing. He encouraged companies to adopt industrial symbiosis and recommended shared infrastructure to drastically reduce toxic emissions and operating costs.
Reinforcing the looming danger, toxicology expert Prof. Taiwo Adewale warned that unchecked industrial expansion poses severe public health risks, including cancer, food poisoning, and brain damage. Adewale cited the example of battery recycling operations in Oyo State, where heavy lead runoff contaminated local drinking streams, resulting in severe poisoning among children and reduced intelligence quotients. He emphasized the necessity of implementing Risk-Based Screening Levels to evaluate toxic hazards as part of the transition to a circular economy.
Another expert, Prof. John Oyedepo, highlighted the need for capital to transition to a circular economy while stressing its necessity. Oyedepo warned that neglecting environmental stewardship amounted to ‘a war of self-destruction.’ To fund capital-intensive environmental projects, he highlighted green loans, green bonds, and blended finance, citing a university that secured a World Bank green loan to install 6,000 solar panels. Oyedepo further discussed carbon finance opportunities, explaining that projects reducing carbon dioxide emissions could generate carbon credits for trading in international markets to secure funding.
‘Achieving green funding requires meeting strict Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards,’ Oyedepo noted, emphasizing that proposals must be bankable and demonstrate strict safeguard compliance, continuous monitoring, and reporting. He also highlighted the economic value of recycling and resource recovery, calling for greater action and declaring that ‘waste is not waste until you waste it.’
Similarly, Mr Opone Ottis, Managing Director of ACCAPPOCCO Global Services Nigeria Ltd., stressed that circular practices could generate jobs while improving access to green financing. Ottis commended the Federal Government’s efforts to introduce green compliance certificates, stating that official endorsements could facilitate tax rebates and build global trust for international business deals. He called on industries to shift from linear production to a circular economy, where one company’s waste could become another company’s raw material.