UNILAG Don Advocates for Carbon Reutilisation, Systemic Reform
Funmi Ogundare
A Professor of Process Systems Engineering at the University of Lagos, Mohammed Usman, has called on engineers, educators, and national leaders to design systems that will turn carbon from a perceived threat into a regenerative ally.
Usman, who stated this recently while delivering the University of Lagos inaugural lecture, titled ‘Carbon: Truly As Guilty As Charged? The Perspective of a Process Systems Engineer on Sustainability’, explained that carbon has been wrongly vilified in global climate discourse.
He asserted that irresponsible resource consumption, rather than carbon itself, is the primary driver of environmental degradation and climate change.
“Let us no longer fear carbon, but rather understand it, master it, and above all, design with it,” he said.
Usman argued that carbon has been implicated as a catalyst for global warming, an agent of ocean acidification, disruptor of the natural carbon cycle, and driver of fossil fuel dependency, among other roles.
“Carbon concentrations have surpassed 420 ppm, primarily from fossil fuel combustion, contributing significantly to the earth’s energy imbalance (NASA, 2024). Fossil fuels also release over 33 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, entrenching energy systems in carbon intensity (IEA, 2023),” stated Usman.
He pointed out that the transition from one resource type to another, such as from fossil fuels to renewables, without addressing underlying consumption habits, could result in solving one environmental problem while creating another.
Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production) as a foundation, he urged individuals, industries, and governments to focus on resource efficiency rather than demonising any particular resource, including carbon.
He also advocated for a move away from emotionally charged terms like decarbonisation and dirty energy, proposing alternatives such as 100 per cent carbon utilisation or re-carbonisation to reflect a more balanced and productive approach.
Usman called on the Nigerian government to enforce resource footprint assessments across all policy areas, reframe climate change policy to recognize carbon as a vital and manageable resource, and strengthen academic-industry partnerships through deliberate policy and increased investment in research and development.
“The University of Lagos should lead by example by integrating its utility systems (water and power) for self-sufficiency and sustainability, shifting campus waste treatment to resource recovery, and establishing a Centre of Excellence for Biomimicry,” Usman stated.
