The Chief Sustainability Officer of Global Impact Sustainable Development Enterprise Limited, Lolu Akindele, has called on churches across Nigeria to take a leading role in climate change awareness and environmental sustainability.

Akindele appealed on Thursday during a Climate Literacy and Awareness Programme for students and staff of the Redeemed Christian Theological College (RCTC) in Redemption City, Ogun State.

The programme, themed “Empowering Action for a Sustainable Future,” was organised in collaboration with the University of the West of England, Bristol, and the United Kingdom’s Carbon Literacy Project.

He said climate change was a shared challenge that required active participation from religious institutions, given its impact on everyone.

“The church must, in fact, be at the forefront of the battle. I want to use this opportunity to tell church leaders that we must be involved in the awareness of climate change because whatever happens will affect all of us,” he said.

Akindele explained that the training was designed to help participants understand climate change and identify practical ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He disclosed that approximately 125 learners were undergoing training at RCTC as part of the initiative. Similar programmes have also been held for teachers in Oyo State and Ghana to extend climate education across Africa.

“We are here today for a programme called Climate Literacy and Awareness Programme. It is a programme designed in collaboration with the University of the West of England, Bristol, and accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project in the UK.

“The objective is to ensure that climate education is passed across Africa, not only Nigeria. We have done one in Ghana, and in July, we were in Oyo State, where we trained over 300 teachers,” he said.

According to Akindele, teachers and trainee pastors were deliberately selected because they could spread climate knowledge to large audiences through their respective roles.

“What we want is that we are starting with the people that will have the maximum impact in terms of multiplier effect. Teachers, for example, you know how many students pass through teachers.

“Also, for trainee pastors and those who are training them, when they have that knowledge, they can pass it on to their congregations, which will have a real multiplier effect. That is like a seed we are sowing, which we expect to germinate and bring forth much fruit,” he said.

Participants are expected to prepare individual and group action plans at the end of the training. The sessions cover climate change, greenhouse gases, global warming and the effects of climate change, while encouraging participants to identify measures for reducing their carbon footprints.

“Everyone will leave this place today with an action plan that says, ‘As an individual, this is what I will do for the climate and the environment.’ They will also come up with a group plan,” he said.

The sustainability expert also praised the Redeemed Christian Church of God for incorporating environmental initiatives into its operations at Redemption City.

He cited the presence of a recycling plant, ongoing solar energy projects aimed at shifting part of the organisation’s energy supply to solar power, and an electric vehicle charging point within the church’s premises.

“This is the first religious organisation we have been working with, and if you go round the church, they have proven that they are actually interested.

“I have gone round and seen that there is a recycling plant on this campground. There is a solarisation project going on, where they are changing some of their energy supply to solar. There is also an electric vehicle charging point here. This means that the organisation, the mission, is actually focused. It has this green tendency in it, which is excellent,” he said.

Earlier, the Provost of RCTC, Pastor Rotimi Alaba Oti, said climate change had become an immediate concern affecting communities, economies, public health, agriculture and livelihoods rather than a distant environmental issue.

Oti stressed that theological institutions had a responsibility to make environmental stewardship part of Christian leadership training.

“As an institution committed to theological education and Christian leadership formation, RCTC recognises that our responsibility extends beyond the classroom and the church. Christian stewardship includes responsible stewardship of God’s creation,” he said.

Referencing Psalm 24:1, the provost said, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein,” emphasising humanity’s responsibility to care for creation.

He added that climate literacy involved ethical, theological, social, economic and spiritual considerations, noting that awareness must translate into meaningful action.

“What we need is a movement from knowledge to responsibility, and from responsibility to action,” Oti said.

He encouraged RCTC students and staff to identify practical ways to address environmental challenges in their homes, churches, workplaces and communities.

The Deputy Provost of RCTC, Dr Olujobi Adeleke, also described the training as timely, noting that climate change was a global challenge that required collective efforts.

Adeleke said the effects of climate change extended to agriculture, production and the economy, adding that pastors and other church leaders had a role in promoting environmental protection.

He urged individuals to pay attention to activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation.

Stella Nwachukwu, a diploma student at RCTC who participated in the programme, said the training had improved her understanding of climate change and its consequences, particularly flooding, famine and food inflation.

She added that the sessions had broadened her knowledge of the climate crisis and the practical actions individuals could take to help address it.

Source: Punch