Northwest govts move to develop strategies to address climate change issues

The governments of the state made this move on Friday, March 1, 2024, at a one-day summit on climate change organised by Surge Africa, a not-for-profit organisation, and hosted by the Kano State Ministry of Environment in partnership with the Zamfara and Sokoto State Ministry of Environment.

The summit was aimed at promoting dialogue, collaboration, and fostering inter-state strategies on climate change in the Northwest region.

At the event, the seven state governments represented by their Commissioners and House Committee Chairmen on Environment and Climate Change deliberated on vital issues regarding climate change, sustainable development, and climate security.

In their bid to address the climate-related issues bedevilling the region, the states signed a declaration dubbed “the Kano Declaration on Climate Change and Environment.” 

The declaration underlined the region’s pledge to the conservation of biodiversity, rural integration, enhanced collaboration and partnerships, adaptation finance, sustainable development, and climate security among others in the region.

Also, with the escalating climate crisis in Nigeria and the passage of the Climate Change Bill into law, Surge Africa believes that state governments must urgently increase their ambitions around mitigating the social, economic and environmental crises exacerbated by climate change, especially in fragile ecosystems like Northern Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the founder of Surge Africa, Nasreen Al-Amin, said, the organisation is committed to bringing key stakeholders together to discuss strategic frameworks such as the State Climate Action Plan and climate fund that need to be developed to integrate climate adaptation at the state level.

She said,“The summit revealed the readiness of states to collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs) and development partners to advance state initiatives. Not only is the Summit timely in terms of the critical issues that were discussed, it also presented a unique opportunity for CSOs to partner with state actors in scaling tangible climate solutions. 

In his remark, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Abubakar Buba said, “Climate security is a regional problem and must be addressed as such because the bush that runs from Sokoto to Kaduna and down to Niger State is the same.

He, therefore, called for collaborations to address the issues as a regional threat.