The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), has advised the Federal governments to move away from expensive, unreliable, and high polluting carbon intensive developments to a more climate-resilient society, through low carbon growth.
NIQS President, Abba Tor, gave the advice on Wednesday in Abuja, at a news conference ahead of the Biennial Conference/General Meeting of the Institute themed: “Climate change and global disasters: Developing sustainable infrastructure amidst declining economic development.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tor said resilient measures would go a long way to mitigate the influence and challenges facing climate change in Nigeria.
He said the management of the Institute has invited industry professionals with knowledge of sustainable development, to make presentations on the challenges facing sustainable construction practices.
Tor listed other areas of focus to include the imperatives of a government’s policy framework for the implementation of sustainable infrastructure development in Nigeria, and the role of stakeholders in their implementation.
He also said the conference will address strategies for achieving carbon reduction in the design of sustainable infrastructure projects, the place of digital technologies in the implementation of carbon reduction in construction, and the role of NIQS in such development.
According to him, it is no longer news that climate change poses a huge threat to humankind, and the survival of our shared world, hence the need for professional bodies, including NIQS, to synergise and address its challenges in Nigeria’s construction sector.
The conference will address strategies for achieving carbon reduction in the design of sustainable infrastructure projects, the place of digital technologies in the implementation of carbon reduction in construction.
He said: “According to a global status report, buildings and construction jointly account for 36% of global final energy use and 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.
“The report suggests that the intensity per square meter (m2) of the global building sector needs to improve on average by 30% by 2030 in order to be in line with global climate ambitions set out in the ‘Paris Agreement’.”
He therefore urged the government to consider more resilient alternatives through low carbon growth with the right financing in place.
According to him, the building and construction sector should be among the primary targets for “Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation efforts by the government in tackling challenges posed by climate change in Nigeria.”
The NIQS is a professional body in Nigeria responsible for total cost and procurement management, for the achievement of client’s objectives in all types of capital projects.
The Institute was created to contribute to infrastructure developments from conception to commissioning and maintenance, in all sectors of the economy for the attainment of sustainable national development, among others.
