By Peter Egwuatu

Climate change poses a grave and escalating threat to the environment and human survival, according to Professor Mohammed Awwalu Usman, a leading expert in Process Systems Engineering.

Presenting the 19th Inaugural Lecture of the 2024/2025 academic session, titled “Is Carbon Truly as Guilty as Charged? The Perspective of a Process Systems Engineer on Sustainability,” at the University of Lagos, Prof. Usman challenged the prevailing climate change narrative, particularly the global push for decarbonisation, which he argued oversimplifies the issue by villainizing carbon.

“Today, I intend to interrogate that narrative and provide an alternative perspective rooted in my research. As professors are expected to do, I will offer a ‘professy’ on the risks of the current trajectory. As Neuro Linguistic Programming teaches, the quality of answers depends on the quality of the questions asked.”, he noted.

Prof. Usman stressed that human existence is intrinsically tied to the consumption of natural resources, materials and energy. However, the accelerated use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) in modern civilization has led to major environmental and health problems.

“Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. As a result, it has become the scapegoat in the climate debate,” he stated.

While acknowledging the global consensus on the need to decarbonise, including initiatives like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he cautioned against one-dimensional solutions. According to him, achieving true sustainability requires a more holistic and responsible approach to resource use.

He highlighted SDG 12, which advocates for responsible consumption and production, noting that unchecked exploitation of resources, especially in the context of a growing global population, is the root cause of many environmental crises today.

Prof. Usman outlined common critiques of carbon, including its role in disrupting the natural carbon cycle, exacerbating extreme weather events, entrenching carbon-dependent infrastructure, threatening public health, and undermining food security.

However, he argued in defense of carbon, asserting that the problem lies not with the element itself, but with how it is used.

“Carbon is the building block of all known life. The real issue is excessive and inefficient usage, not carbon itself. The carbon cycle is a natural, life-sustaining process. Moreover, carbon can be repurposed using emerging technologies like carbon capture and utilization,” he explained.

He warned that today’s aggressive shift from carbon-based resources may lead to a new cycle of blame saying: “Just as we have blamed carbon, we may soon find ourselves pointing fingers at lithium or other critical elements. From ‘decarbonisation’ to ‘delithiumisation,’ the pattern could repeat. The key to sustainability is not in demonizing elements, but in adopting responsible and efficient resource use across the board.”

Speaking on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, the Deputy Vice Chancellor,  Academic and Research, Professor Bola Oboh, praised Prof. Usman’s lecture as timely and thought-provoking.

“He has made a compelling case for rethinking our approach to sustainability,” she said. “Rather than pursuing blind decarbonisation, perhaps we should consider ‘recarbonisation’ a more balanced, informed strategy. With the precision of an engineer and the clarity of a scholar, Professor Usman has opened the door to a crucial and necessary dialogue on the future of our planet.”