As the world continues to face the challenges of change in climatic conditions, the World Bank has expressed readiness to assist Nigeria combat environmental hazards.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the Senate's Environment Committee, Program Coordinator, Environment and Natural Resources Unit, Africa Region of the World Bank, Dr. Herbert K. Acquay, said the Bank has established a fund to help check global warming.

According to him, "Climate change is a very important area of interest to the World Bank and a fund has been established to help control the problem. I want to appeal to you to make a strong case for Africa at a meeting that is coming up next month, so as to convince the top management to consider your country."

In her speech earlier, Chairman Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Folashade Bent (PDP, Adamawa South) had said that the country is facing environmental challenges.

"Nigeria is bedeviled with a lot of environmental problems because of our geographical location. There is desertification in the North, oil spill in the Niger Delta that causes water pollution and gas flaring with the attendant air pollution.

We have serious gully erosion in the South East region which threatens to wash off some communities if nothing is done soon. Global warming has led to flood which is a big problem today. We learnt that the size of the crack on the ozone layer is now the size of West Africa. So we need the support of the World Bank to tackle these problems," she said.

She said the National Assembly is set to pass legislation that will provide stiff penalties for defaulters of existing environmental laws saying, "oil companies are not helping matters.

We need a comprehensive environmental law to tackle the situation."