The AACJ Team in collaboration with the Netherlands embassy paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Environment to seek for further partnership in tackling the issue of climate change in Nigeria on Friday 6th October, 2023.
During the visit the Minister of State, Environment, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, committed to working with the group urging ‘Count me in as one of your advocates’. The Minister also emphasised the importance of ongoing contact with the public in order for ideas to be exchanged.
“People are aware of what the government is doing, and the government is aware of what the people are doing, allowing all of us to continuously develop, and CSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can be a part of the people,” he said.
During the visit, Ambassador Wouter Plomp, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, made the demand, stating that collaboration will effectively push climate justice, climate policies, climate actions, climate mobilisation, and climate awareness across the African continent.
The AACJ consortium Lead Mr Kenneth Akpan also noted that, the AACJ initiative strives to raise the voices of vulnerable people, particularly women, youths, and people with disabilities, in dealing with the effects of climate change.
As a result, he urged the Minister of State for the Environment to join the CSOs in driving projects aimed at mobilising communities and raising awareness about the effects of climate change, among other things.
“The goal of this project is to give Africa a voice when it comes to climate change and related issues. It has been seen that there is a disparity in the impact of climate change on Africa, and we have contributed as little as 3% to the voice.”
Mr. Benson Simba, Head of Project Management Unit – AACJ Consortium, noted that Africa needs greater focus on adaptation.
He also notified the Minister of the upcoming Agricultural Adaptation Acceleration Conference, which will be held on October 16–19. He added that it would be great if the Minister will attend, as his contribution will be highly needed in the conference.
From the Federal Ministry of Environment, the entire team of the AACJ visited the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMet) at the airport were their office is situated, to ascertain their knowledge and participation in the AACJ project to fight against climate injustice.
The courtesy visit was to also strengthen the collaboration between the agency and the AACJ team going forward to be carried along subsequently.
The AACJ project is a community-based project hosted by a consortium of five Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) – the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Oxfam, Natural Justice, African Youth Commission (AYC) and the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), that are championing the fight against climate change in Africa. The project aims to organise and mobilise women, youth and indigenous communities to advance their solutions to the climate crisis, to enjoy their rights to a healthy environment and self-determination.