The Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), have called for concrete action to address climate change for climate justice in Nigeria.
The Executive Director, GIFSEP, David Terungwa, made the call at the Africa Climate Caravan and Art competition by 19 schools in the FCT on Tuesday in Abuja, organised by the Initiative and supported by Oxfam.
He said the demand for climate justice became necessary, considering the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Conference of Parties (COP27), scheduled to hold from November 6 to 18, in Egypt.
The COP27 is a conference where countries come together to take action towards achieving the world`s collective climate goals and its impact.
Terungwa said the climate caravan was an initiative of Oxfam in Nigeria, as part of the African Climate Caravan, bringing CSOs and climate impacted communities together, demanding for concrete climate action.
He said climate justice is all about inclusiveness and protection of the rights of those most vulnerable to the effects of climate, to promote equity and ensure access to basic resources and for young people to live, learn, play and work in a healthy and clean environment.
He said: the aim of the event is to unite all the CSOs in Africa to show that it is important that we demand for climate justice, considering the impact of climate change on the continent.
“This is a very important issue, the art competition displayed by the students show that they are not ignorant of the climate change impact in the country. We call on the government to go beyond signing agreements and policy statements without real action on the ground at https://pro-cosmetology.ru/licensed-verbinden-casino-sport-and-esport-betting/
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“We lost over 600 people to flood, with farms and farm lands washed away; so many households are still living in Internally Displaced Camps with very slow response.
“It is an issue of climate finance; enough funds need to be released during the international negotiations, COP27, to tackle all of these challenges.”
Climate justice is all about inclusiveness and protection of the rights of those most vulnerable to the effects of climate, to promote equity and ensure access to basic resources and for young people to live, learn, play and work in a healthy and clean environment.
Stronger action needed
Terungwa said the Nigerian Government is signatory to the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and had signed the Climate Change Act into law, adding that it was a great achievement.
He, however, said Nigeria is lacking in action and strong implementation of policies.
He informed that over 100 African CSOs across 28 countries, including Nigeria will be in Egypt to present their joint declaration, while heads of state and government are expected to defend the interests of their own citizens.
“In particular, by supporting the agro-ecological transition and protecting the rights of farming communities. We must as well emphasise on the request for promoting better representation of youth and women in decision-making bodies.
“We are also calling on the developed countries to live up to their climate commitments from the Paris Agreement,” he said.
The Climate Justice Coordinator for Oxfarm, Kenneth Akpan, said the programme is a collection of CSOs’ across countries in Africa.
“There is a need for coming together to have a unified opinion to approach the climate change table, to amplify the voices of Africans, particularly the vulnerable.
“We all know that Africans suffer more from this climate change, which has been leading to loss of lives and damage of property,” he said.
Akpan said Nigeria needed at least N100 billion to approach and tackle the flood issues.
He said there are many commitments to be put in place by the government to ensure that the climate change law is being implemented but there were still more efforts to be done.
Miss Oluomachukwu Okafor from the Government Girls School, Dutse, who spoke on behalf of other students, said the art works displayed by the schools are all about the effects and impact of climate change in the environment.
“The art shows that climate change is living already with us and must have urgent attention to address it effectively,” she said. (NAN)
