Environmentalist and founder, Digital International Platform for Environmental Protection (DIPESH), Astrid Arens has urged Nigeria to take advantage of the EU Green Deal - a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union climate neutral in 2050.

Arens told a forum of Environmental Protection Sustainability activists and stakeholders in Abuja that the EU Green Deal expected to come into effect by January 2024 was about living sustainability practices, new legislation, funding to supporting development, empowerment and education/engagement needed from infancy to adult life.

The senator to the German Federal Association of Business Development and Foreign Economic Advisor to the United States of America noted that Nigeria and Africa is blessed with great mineral resources, land and weather, especially sunny weather which ought to foster greater wealth and prosperity for the continent if well harnessed by its leadership.

Other stakeholders at the event voiced their concerns on the degradation of the environment by multinationals and the failure of the government to make them take responsibility for their pollution and the attending effects on Nigerians.

According to them, Nigeria must put in place legislations, build capacity and commit resources to building a sustainable environment where multinationals are made to take responsibilities for their actions.

They noted the need for to embrace alternative energy sources such as renewable energy calling for greater commitments from elected public officials.

They also advocated the need for increased awareness to sensitize Nigerians while urging deliberate efforts to elect those sympathetic to environmental issues at all levels.

The programme organized by the Richard George Foundation (RGF), in collaboration with Voice-Aid Association, Germany E.V, and DIPESH resolved to take to task governments at all levels on the need to evolve policies to protect the Nigerian environment.