The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), a civil society Organization led by foremost Professor of Environment and Governance, Chukwumerije Okereke, says that Nigeria can leverage coordinated climate action at the subnational level to achieve sustainable development.
Nnaemeka Oruh, Senior Policy Analyst, SPP, said this in an interview on Democracy Radio, Abuja, monitored by Persecondnews.
Oruh clarified that state and local government levels primarily experience the effects of climate change.
He lamented the lack of action at the subnational level to address the long-standing climate change issues, which range from desertification and land degradation to flooding and erosion in the north and south, respectively.
He said that to fully grasp the extent of climate change impacts and the resultant actions being taken at the subnational level to address them, the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) embarked on research in 2023.
In close collaboration with the Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in 2023, the research produced a first-of-its-kind survey of subnational climate impacts, entitled “Climate Impacts, Policies, and Actions at the Subnational Level in Nigeria,” according to him.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, along with the Director General of the Nigeria Governors Forum and other stakeholders, launched the research findings in November, he added.
“To further measure the extent of climate action and governance at the subnational level, the SPP, in collaboration with the DCC, has just concluded a ranking survey scheduled for launch in Abuja on July 25, 2024.”
He said the ranking survey graded all 36 states’ climate action performances using five criteria: administrative institutions; policy and action plan; budget and finance; implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and online visibility.
He said the ranking survey set to be launched is aimed at gauging the extent of states’ performances in order to identify where gaps exist so that stakeholders can then take action to close them.
Oruh credited the current effort to assist Enugu and Taraba States in developing comprehensive climate change action plans, citing a success story from the mapping exercise last year.
Oruh expressed regret that the Nigerian government and people do not give climate action the level of importance and urgency it deserves, but ironically, he pointed out that by advancing climate action, Nigeria can actually address most of her developmental and everyday needs.
He highlighted a few recommendations for Nigeria to take climate action, thereby tackling some of its developmental and everyday challenges, increase the existing level of investments in renewable energy to address the perennial energy crisis in the country; provide clean cooking options for rural women to save them from the health implications of unclean cooking; leverage climate-smart agricultural practices to address food insecurity; provide jobs; and even address the insecurity that comes from fighting over scarce arable lands, among others.
“Nigeria’s subnational structure, comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, together with its 774 local government areas, suffers from a disconnect between federal policies and subnational implementation,” Oruh said.
The Climate Change Policy Analyst said:”SPP believes that there is a need for proper coordination between the federal and the subnational, with subnational climate actions linking with the global and federal but also reflecting the unique needs of each component of the subnational.
“This coordinated action is the only way Nigeria can meet her climate change goals and also leverage the process to engender sustainable development.”
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