The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed its determination to initiate and sustain policies that are environment-friendly.
This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Mr Ohi Alegbe, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC.
According to the statement, this will be done through the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies and upgrade of its production facilities.
It said that Mr Andrew Yakubu, the NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD), stated this in Abuja at an event to commemorate the 2014 World Environment Day with the theme: "Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level".
It said the event was organised by the Group Health Safety and Environment Department of NNPC.
The statement quoted Yakubu as saying that NNPC as a responsible corporate organisation had deployed strategies to ensure discontinuation of harmful and unsafe chemicals to environments where its oil facilities were located.
"NNPC has reduced routine gas flaring from over 30 to about 11 per cent in the last three years.
"We are pursuing renewable energy development in line with the Kyoto Protocol. We are ensuring pollution control and swift remediation of impacted site whenever they occur," Yakubu said.
He called on Nigerians to collectively address the issues of climate change and strengthen their resolve toward tree planting to make the environment a better place for sustainable development.
He observed that NNPC as a major player in the oil and gas industry, had raised health safety and environment standards
According to him, the event reaffirmed the corporation's commitment to staff wellbeing, safety at work place and environmental protection.
The statement said that Dr Engobo Emeseh, a guest lecturer from the UK, also warned on the security risks that climate change posed to the contemporary society.
Emeseh said this in a paper he delivered entitled: "Climate Change: It is Time for Action".
She noted that climate change was the highest security risk confronting the contemporary society which had led to draught, flooding and famine in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
She implored NNPC and other organisations to embark on operations that were environment-friendly.
She warned that if effects of climate change were not mitigated, the water level would continue to rise and submerge some of the installations of the corporation. (NAN)