A carbon credit expert, Captain Waredi Enisuoh has given an insight into what the oil and gas rich Niger Delta region can do to positively change the present poor narrative on climate change.
Speaking against the backdrop of the just concluded 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Enisuoh who is popularly called “Double Captain” by his admirers due to his innate skills in navigating vessels and pilot aircrafts highlighted the Niger Delta potential contributions towards combating climate change through biological sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions.
In Arise Television programme monitored by Maritime Bits, Enisuoh who is the Executive Director, Operations and Technical Services, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) averred that the potentials of the Niger Delta in the face of environmental degradation from continued oil exploration, and also the issue of Nigeria’s struggle with waste management, particularly e-waste are enormous.
He argued that it has become imperative for all hands to be on deck to take advantage of the opportunities provided by carbon credits to address the challenges of emission across the globe.
His words: “If you take a flight over the Niger Delta, you will definitely see from the skies that some areas on the ground in terms of waste management and things like that are quite a bit of a problem. That is number one. Number two, there are some areas have been badly devastated by oil and gas exploration.
“At the moment, what we are trying to do is to be able to correlate images, both thermal and color images, on how we can best utilize these particular areas. In fact, some areas are very, very bad and the communities have had to evacuate because of the high level of carcinogens in the area. There is going to be a cleanup plan. There is also going to be a plan to educate the communities. So we are not only talking to those who know. We are also coming up with projects to enlighten the communities.”
The carbon credit expert also revealed that plans are in the pipeline to partner with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to achieve the desired results in the years.
Highlighting the importance of data, Enisuoh who was hitherto his appointment in TSSNL was a Director at Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said: “If you do not have the capacity to obtain data, it is going to be very, very difficult. That is why we have partnered with some companies like, you know, Oxytane, which also the government is working with. At the moment, they are partners with the government when it comes to carbon credits and here and there.
“We have partnered with them because one of the things you have to do is first to prove ownership of the area that has the capacity to work on this biological sequestration. That is number one. Number two, you have to get data on the biological assets. The number of assets you have and the type of assets you have so that it will be able to be portrayed as, you know, portrayed as your ability to be able to, or your sequestration process.
“Then you have to register your sequestration process in the carbon credit registry. So we got quite a far way to go. But if you look to my left and right, you will see that we got drones that we normally use to obtain a lot of these data, which we are planning to exchange with the companies that have the capacity to mine this data, keep these data, so that we will be able to convert this data to monies for the communities. But we still got a fair bit to do.
“That is why we are here to talk to you so that the wider public knows that we have the potentials to come together, work together with the government, both at state, local and federal level, to make sure that these things work. This is due to the fact that this is a second chance for Africa to key into participating with the developed world in achieving something. Because I mean, we kind of missed out on the industrial age, but we do not want to miss out on the future age.”
Enisuoh expressed the readiness of TSSNL to work with other relevant organizations to attain set goals and objectives.
According to him, we have to work with National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the environmental people that are in charge of all of this, to NOSDRA, even the Nigerian Climate Change Commission and the Boundary Commission and so on to start with.
