Activists to FG: Begin implementation of climate change act to safeguard livelihoods

Climate activists have asked the federal government to begin the implementation of the climate change act to address concerns stated in a recent report published by the United Nations. 

The activists spoke on Friday during a media roundtable held in Abuja. 

The development comes amid the release of a climate report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, on February 28. 

The report found that climate change is worsening extreme weather events, and Africa is among the regions most vulnerable to its impact. 

David Terungwa, team lead, Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), said Nigeria is one of the hotspots and is very vulnerable. 

“In as much as crude oil is our major source of income, agriculture employs more than 70 percent of the population and if climate changes as this report says, agriculture will be affected and all of this will have significant effect on our livelihood as a nation and that is why we need to implement, as soon as possible, the climate change act,” Terungwa said. 

On his part, Shuaib Hassan, director of environmental studies at the University of Abuja, said Nigeria needs adaptive measures because the IPCC report shows that flooding will be extreme in tropical countries which Nigeria is a part of. 

“Nigeria is one of the countries in the tropical area. So, if we belong to this tropical environment, that means that impact is going to affect us. So, we should be up and doing to be able to bring in some adaptive measures that can cushion the effect when it happens,” Hassan said.  

He also said Nigeria must adopt policies focused on maintaining green surroundings, regreen its landscapes, and encourage utilisation of alternative sources of energy. 

In his remarks, Yahaya Dangana, group leader, Climate Change Lobby in Lafia, said the effect of the IPCC report “is going to be enormous in Nigeria if we do not have an institution that will work towards implementing it”.

He called on the president to constitute a board that would focus climate related issues, adding that delay in implementation will have a “devastating” effect on the country.

Buhari had, in November 2021, signed the climate change bill into law.