Some Civil Society Organizations in Abuja have advocated for climate financing adaptation in the country.
Mr Michael David, the Executive Secretary of Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), made the call at a three-day workshop which commenced on Tuesday Oct. 24 Oct. 26 with the theme: “Building the Political Will for Climate Justice in Nigeria.”
David explained that, “in Nigeria what we are demanding for is climate finance for adaptation not just climate finance for mitigation because what we really need to build resilience in our continent is climate finance for adaptation.
“When you finance adaptation you are taking care of food security, energy, health also you are building resilient infrastructure, so the demand for us as Nigerians and as Africans is climate finance.
“There’s been a lot of talk on climate finance but not much has been achieved the global north countries keep promising but little gets to us.”
He said that some of the climate laws should be reviewed. The environmental impact assessment of the country has no mention of climate change.
“We need implementation of the climate laws and the implementations cannot be done without finances we are looking at the area of budgeting.
The training targeted at training climate advocates on different ways of climate advocacy.
“Specifically, we are training them on how to lobby policy makers on environmental policies. Engaging and building relationships with legislators, members of the House of Representatives, state governors, ministers, and all the other policy makers in a very skillful manner, with admiration and gratitude,” he said.
David explained further that the climate advocates who are from other states will all go back to organise climate lobby days.
“We need each other, to take climate action in Nigeria it is not about government alone it is about we citizens as well so we need that partnership, relationship and that is why we are training advocates,” he said.
He said that they need these lobbies to curb environmental offender actions and to encourage the mainstreaming of climate change in everything that is done as a country.
“Two years ago we lobbied for climate action in Nigeria in order for the climate act law to be passed then it was a bill in the National Assembly two weeks after that lobby meeting, the climate act was passed,” he said.
The executive secretary commended OXFAM Nigeria, for its support to the group in carrying out the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project along other partners in Nigeria.
”The climate lobby is a unique and carefully designed process to have citizens engage with their members of parliament, senators, members of house of Reps, local government chairmen, ministers and all elected officials,” he said.
He advised that it was better they engaged with policy makers using certain tools, respect admiration and gratitude for climate action with other developmental issues.
Mr Ibrahim Bello, the Executive Director of Alimat Care Foundation in Adamawa said that they participated in the two days training organised by GIFSEP and supported by OXFAM under the AACJ project.
“After we learnt the necessary tools to lobby, we visited the state assembly members where we lobbied for the domestication of the national act on climate change and the review of Adamawa State Forest Law which has been obsolete and last reviewed in 1963,” he said.
He expressed optimism over the passage of the bill by the governor soon, adding that if that is done it is going to be a milestone for the people of the state.
