From Policy to Action: The Role Of Youths in Nigeria’s Climate Action Strategy.

Tackling climate change in Nigeria is imperative, given the country’s ecological vulnerability. With high deforestation rate, threatening mangrove forests, rising sea levels posing a threat to coastal cities, drought and reduced rainfall hindering agricultural productivity and, exacerbating food insecurity and health issues. 

Do you know that regions like the south-south and south-east have been severely impacted by climate change, with rising sea levels and increasing salinity affecting local fisheries and agriculture? How about frequent flooding that disrupts lives, while oil spills and industrial pollution worsen environmental degradation? In northern Nigeria, states like Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States among others face severe climate change impacts, including desertification, and decreased agricultural productivity, leading to food insecurity, poverty, and conflict over resources.

To address these challenges, Nigeria has developed climate policies, including the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), to reduce vulnerability and integrate climate adaptation into national planning.

National Determined Contributions (NDC): The NDCs are commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by expanding its climate commitment to include new sectors which include actions in energy efficiency, agriculture, oil and gas, power, infrastructure, and housing, with specific actions aimed at mitigating climate change.

National Adaptation Plan (NAP): NAP serves as a comprehensive framework, providing strategic direction for the development and implementation of adaptation initiatives. It fosters a collaborative approach, promoting coordination across various levels of governance and encouraging partnership between public and private sectors. This synergy facilitates knowledge sharing, reduces duplication of efforts, and aligns adaptation strategies with Nigeria’s broader development goals. Notably, the NAP prioritises gender responsiveness, community engagement, and ecosystem-based approaches.

With young people comprising over half of Nigeria’s population, it is vital for Nigeria to maximise the ever-growing youth force to address climate challenges and ensure effectiveness.

That is why organisations like the Network of Youth for Sustainable Initiative (NGYouthSDGs) is demonstrating a commitment to involving young people to address climate challenges and specifically ensure that Nigeria climate-related policies such as the NAPs and the NDCs are implemented. The Empowering Youth Civil Society to Build Stronger Communities in Nigeria, also known as #ClimateActionForStrongerNaija is a climate-related project by NGYouthSDGs with support from the German Missions in Abuja. Learn more here.

Youth involvement is crucial for several reasons:

1. Innovative Solutions: Young people’s blend of creativity, tech Savviness and energetic spirit enables them to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas into problem-solving; incorporating this in tackling climate challenges can be a game changer, by fostering creativity and new approaches to adaptation and mitigation that will unlock novel solution and drive meaningful change.

2. Grassroots Mobilisation: Youth organisations play a vital role in mobilizing communities at the grassroots level, raising awareness about climate change, and advocating for climate action. This is crucial for achieving widespread impact, as it enables the inclusion of underserved communities and those most vulnerable to climate change. By engaging with local communities, youth organizations can encourage community-led initiatives and projects and empower marginalized voices to demand climate justice.

3. Effective Leadership: Youth are not only the future leaders but also the present change makers. Involving them in climate action equips them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to drive change and continue the fight against climate change in the future. This ensures a lasting legacy of sustainability and resilience, as young leaders develop innovative solutions and strategies, build a network of climate champions and Influence policy and decision-making processes.

4. Educational Impact: Education is a powerful tool in shaping public opinion on climate change. By incorporating climate-smart education into the education system, Nigeria can create a climate-literate population capable of integrating climate solutions across all sectors of society.

Through youth inclusion in climate policy actions like the NDCs & NAPs, Nigeria can empower young people to take ownership of their work and build climate resilience, fostering a sense of agency that can lead to significant collective impact, both currently and in the years to come.

As Nigeria strives to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, the collaborative efforts of everyone, with young people at the forefront, will be crucial in achieving this ambitious target and securing sustainability.