‘UN report on climate change should spur developers to adopt green building practices’

Moses Ayom, chief executive officer (CEO) of Hongye International Limited, says the latest UN report on climate change should spur property developers in Africa to green building practices which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The UN report said human activities have caused earth great damage that will be irreversible for hundreds and thousands of years to come.

Ayom said investors and international development finance institutions should seize the business opportunity in having a carbon-neutral economy in Nigeria.

“Mitigating the impact of climate change is everyone’s business. The latest report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals that the Earth is approximately 1.1 degrees Centigrade hotter than it was in the second half of the 19th century,” he said.

“If this trend continues, there will be no future for the world. We all must do our part to fix this problem. And that is why as a socially responsible company, we decided to commit to building the Ketti District that spans over 300 hectares of land in Abuja as a foremost Green and Smart City in Africa.”

Ayom said his company’s decision to develop Ketti District as a green city is an attempt to mitigate pollutions from the built environment.

“We are talking about a Green City that would sit over 300 hectares of land with a potential population density of close to 10,000 persons that climate-smart energy sources would power. The energy savings would be immense, and the carbon footprint/impact on the environment would be near zero,” the CEO said.

“Ketti Green City would be a great addition to the efforts of the Nigerian government to meet its climate change targets. As the foremost and largest green city in Africa, it will serve as an example for other developers to start thinking green instead of building conventionally.”

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for lifting the suspension on the FCT land swap programme, Ayom said the decision paved the way for the FHA–Ketti district collaboration which is championing green buildings in the nation’s capital.