Research Tips with Dr. Juliana

  Nigerian commercial building with rooftop solar panels and a diesel backup generator, illustrating a hybrid energy system for reliable and lower-carbon business operations. By Dr. Juliana Philip Ndalnamu Research Tips with Dr. Juliana Imagine a busy hotel in Lagos or a commercial office in Abuja. The lights are on, air conditioners are running, guests are checking in, and staff are processing payments. Then the grid supply fails. Within moments, a diesel generator started, allowing business to continue. For many Nigerian organisations, this is a familiar part of daily operations. Reliable electricity supports productivity, customer service, food safety, comfort, and business continuity. When grid supply is interrupted, stopping operations may not be realistic. Yet the cost of keeping the lights on extends beyond fuel bills, generator servicing, and equipment maintenance. There is also an environmental cost: the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the energy an organis...

  Sustainability Monday Carbon Footprint Measurement: The Foundation of Credible Net-Zero Targets From climate ambition to measurable action Last week, we examined what Nigeria needs to do to move from its net-zero commitment toward meaningful climate action. But there is an important question that comes before setting ambitious reduction targets: How can an organisation reduce its emissions if it does not first know how much it is emitting? This is where carbon footprint measurement becomes fundamental. A net-zero target may sound ambitious and impressive, but a credible transition to net zero requires more than announcing a target year. Organisations need to understand their current emissions, identify the major sources, establish a baseline, and then determine where meaningful reductions can be achieved. What Is a Carbon Footprint? A carbon footprint is an estimat...

  Sustainability & Climate Policy Nigeria has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060. Since that commitment, the country has developed a substantial climate-policy architecture, including the Climate Change Act 2021, the Energy Transition Plan (ETP), the Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS), and a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) submitted to the UNFCCC in September 2025. But a policy commitment is not the same thing as decarbonisation. A country can pass climate legislation, publish transition strategies and announce investment programmes without yet demonstrating sustained reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. This raises a more important question for Nigeria: How far has Nigeria moved from making a net-zero commitment to achieving measurable sectoral decarbonisation? This article examines that question using a simple five-stage framework: Commitment: What has Nigeria promised? ...

  Sustainability starts with reducing everyday waste When we talk about living sustainably, our minds often go straight to the things we should buy —bamboo toothbrushes, reusable bottles, organic clothing, energy-efficient appliances or solar panels. Those choices can certainly help. But sustainability also begins with something much simpler: what we choose not to waste. Every day, households generate food waste, plastic packaging, unused water, unnecessary energy consumption and other forms of waste. Globally, about 2.56 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste were generated in 2022 , according to the World Bank. Behind every item we throw away are resources that were used to produce it—land, water, energy, raw materials, labour and transportation. That means reducing waste is not simply about having a cleaner home or a tidier environment. It is also about using the resources we already have more responsibly. ...