Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday, September 23, convened a high-level strategic roundtable with the Lagos state office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations (UN) global compact networks, and regional partners from across Africa and the Caribbean at the UN general assembly to tackle the growing climate threats facing coastal communities and critical infrastructure.
The executive session focused on accelerating immediate, actionable solutions and securing sustainable climate financing frameworks to safeguard coastal regions before the onset of future extreme weather events.
In a post obtained from his X handle, Sanwo-Olu highlighted that as a low-lying coastal megacity, Lagos faces direct, ongoing threats from rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and recurrent urban flooding.
“Lagos is a coastal city, so climate change is not a distant concern for us. We see its effects in the flooding that affects our communities and the pressure it puts on our roads, homes, and businesses, ” Sanwo-Olu stated.
He noted that the physical and economic toll on municipal infrastructure requires moving beyond traditional policy discussions toward immediate structural protections and preemptive financial planning.
A central theme of the roundtable was bridging the funding gap for large-scale resilience projects by mobilizing private sector capital alongside international development frameworks.
Sanwo-Olu emphasized that municipal funding alone is insufficient to build long-term defenses against severe environmental pressures.
“By working directly with the private sector, we are putting measures in place and building a stronger, more prepared Lagos,” the governor added
“Government cannot do this alone. We need strong partnerships and practical solutions that will help secure our economic future.”
The collaborative framework established with the UN global compact networks and transatlantic partners aims to create scalable models for coastal defense, infrastructure reinforcement, and climate-resilient urban development across Lagos state.
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