Citizens Climate Volunteers Take Climate Campaign To Nigerian Parliament

Posted by Eric Ojo Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Friday, October 29th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A group of climate activists in Nigeria have taken a giant step towards lobbying members of both chambers of the National Assembly with a view to building the political will for climate action and carbon pricing.

The group which comprise, Citizens Climate International (CCI) Nigeria members, volunteers from CCI Abuja group, CCI Kaduna group and CCI University of Abuja group, together with a team of 22 climate advocates from Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa States, met with some lawmakers at the National Assembly .

The interaction with the members of the Nigerian parliament was facilitated by a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including CCI Abuja group, Coal Free Nigeria and CsDevnet as part of the events to mark the 2021 National Climate Lobby Day.

The National Climate Lobby Day, which is being marked in Nigeria for the first time, started on Monday with a training of environmentalists, climate advocates and member of CCI Nigeria chapter on the act of lobbying as an advocacy tool.

The objective of the meeting with a crop of lawmakers, particularly those in leadership positions in committees dealing with environment, ecological and climate change issues, is to harp on the need to create a Bi-partisan Climate Solution Caucus in the National Assembly, lobby parliament to increase budgetary provision for Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as a Coal-free Nigeria.

Executive Director of Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP) and the Africa Regional Coordinator of CCI, Mr. David Michael Terungwa said although one important means to achieve meaningful climate action, reductions in carbon and emissions and resilience building is government policy and political will, yet there remains a critical lack of ‘political will’ for climate action.

“One important influence on government leaders is engaged citizens who demand action. Politicians don’t create political will; they respond to it. Building political will for climate solutions and action is urgently needed in Nigeria. What’s needed is thousands of ordinary people organized, lobbying their members of Congress with one voice, one message, and lobbying in a relentless, unstoppable, yet friendly and respectful way”, he said.

Mr. Terungwa noted that it is therefore important to empower citizens with skills on effective lobbying with policy makers in Nigeria to build the needed political will for climate action in Nigeria.

Similarly, GIFSEP’s Programme Manager, Joseph Ibrahim observed that the successful hosting of the first National Climate Lobby Day presents light at the end of the tunnel for climate advocacy in Nigeria and hope for the advancement of our democratic process in the country.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has repeatedly affirmed its pledges to follow the path of low carbon development by 2030 as enshrined in the Paris accord endorsed in 2015. In the updated submitted NDC document shows that Nigeria has proposed stronger and ambitious targets than it last did in 2015 sequel to the endorsement of the Paris agreement.

Climate Action Tracker, an independent global scientific analysis organisation tracking climate action since 2009, indicates that 84 countries have submitted new NDC targets. Among the countries on the list, Nigeria is one of the five countries (China, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa and South Korea) that proposed stronger NDC targets, 17 countries submitted stronger targets, nine countries did not increase their ambitions, five proposed new targets, while 75 countries out of the 196 parties that signed the Paris pact have not updated their targets as of August 27.