Climate activists, under the platform of Peace Advocacy and Sustainable Development Outreach, on Saturday, marched to the Anambra State Secretariat, Awka, to demand action on climate change from the governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
PASDO’s march was to commemorate the World Environment Day tagged, “Only One Earth”.
World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year.
Speaking with our correspondent, the organising secretary, Chidimma Uwakwe, said the objective of the outreach was to draw the attention of the state governor and prevail upon him to take climate change adaptation seriously.
Uwakwe lamented that Anambra, over the years, has been suffering the worst impacts of climate change without making efforts to access international climate change adaptation funds to help it tackle the problems.
According to the group, climate change adaptation funds are funds developing countries could access to help them tackle the impacts of climate change in their areas.
Uwakwe said, “It is sad that Anambra State suffers the worst impacts of climate change in Nigeria and Africa, but doesn’t make efforts to access the international climate change adaptation funds to help it tackle the problems.
“That is what we want to change. We have a guest climate change expert with us who is billed to deliver a lecture to the honourable commissioner later.”
During the lecture session, the climate change expert, Elochukwu Ezenekwe, harped on the phenomenon of climate change; how it could be tackled and how its negative impacts cut across the work of most of the government ministries in the state.
Ezenekwe also discussed the concept of climate justice and informed the participants that climate Change Adaptation Funds could be accessed by developing countries to help them tackle the impacts of climate change in their areas.
He, therefore, tasked the governor to set a target of securing up to $20 million in climate change adaptation funds for the people of the state during his tenure.
He said, “This is something we can do. The governor should not be scared to set an ambitious target and challenge the experts to work.”
In case of paucity of funds to hire the right human capital, Ezenekwe volunteered to help out, stating that he had worked in various international organisations, including the world’s largest climate change research body – the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Environment, Felix Odimegwu, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. EmmanUde-Akpeh, commended the group for the noble thought of bringing such an important issue to the attention of the state government.
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