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US Consulate Reiterates Resolve To Partner Nigeria On Climate Change. By Faith Kordoo
The United States Consulate General in Nigeria has restated its commitment to work with Nigeria to address the issue and effects of climate change in the country.
The US Consul General, Will Stevens, gave the assurance while speaking at the Citizen Science News Room Project and mobile app launch, organized by the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative (MAJI), an NGO that focuses on media training to ensure qualitative environmental reportage.
“Climate Change is one of the key pillars of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We are working hard with Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria continues to make the amazing commitments that they’ve made to combat climate change, to reduce flaring and natural gas, to clean up the oil spills that are happening.
Right here in Port Harcourt, we worked together with NOSDRA on oil spills in Eleme, we have scientists from the EPA to work together to share expertise, Stevens stated.
Speak further, the U. S consul stressed on the importance of partnership.
“climate change is a global problem that impacts every citizen in the world, so we need to work together to fight it”, he asserted.
The high point of the event, which was held at the America’s Corner at the University of Port Harcourt, was the launch of a mobile app for investigative reporting by Maji and the showcasing of its Air Quality Monitor.
The Executive Coordinator of, the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative, Onyekachi Emmanuel, gave an insight into the core of the project.
“Citizen science is important for media reporting because we understand that news cannot be told one-sidedly.
“The Citizens Science for Newsrooms project focuses on building the capacity of media, newsroom journalists, investigative journalists, civil society groups, and community-based groups.
“By building their capacities, we would be able to tell stories, reports using data in qualitative and quantitative forms.
“We are also building capacities to be able to engage in data use, we understand that data can only be used if it’s well aggregated, well analyzed, is well visualized, and that will help also create more in depth reporting for newsrooms”, he stated.
He also delved into the significance of the mobile app and air quality monitor.
“So we have created a tool, a mobile app that is accessible via iOS and Android devices, that tool will enable journalists to be able to tell stories around environmental incidents in the Niger Delta, they can also tell stories about air quality in the Niger Delta.
“We also remember that sometime ago, we had the issues of carbon particles called soot that was polluting our environment and we didn’t have any contacts to call to quantity it.
“We have an app and we have deployed air quality sensors in certain locations in Port Harcourt and around Rivers State to collect data, this data is aggregated on that app and this app would be able to speak to Journalists while giving them the tolls to be able to write their stories more effectively and qualitatively.”
The event also had in attendance the Vice Chancellor of Uniport, Professor Georgewill Owunari and the University’s Librarian, Professor, Helen Emafealu.
