The Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN), Nigeria Chapter, has convened its meeting with a call for Nigeria to place greater value on environment, safety and the lives of frontline communities affected by extractive activities.
The meeting, held under the theme: Building Collective Power for a Just Transition in Nigeria, brought together civil society actors, community advocates and energy justice campaigners to chart a common position for engagement with government ahead of COP31 in Brazil.
Speaking at the meeting, the Coordinator of AJTN Nigeria Chapter and Executive Director of Lekeh Development Foundation, Friday Barilule Nbani, said the impact of environmental pollution on community health requires urgent strategic action.
He noted that while life expectancy in countries like the UK, US and Ghana stands at 78 years and 68 years respectively, communities in Nigeria's oil-producing regions experience far lower averages, with some estimates as low as 41 years.
"We need to find a strategic position where Nigeria can value the environment, value sanitation, value safety, value the life of community people more than profit," Nbani said.
He added that dynamite has been used in communities and that with the push for CNG and 12 stations in Abuja and other energy initiatives, there is need for caution to ensure the transition does not implode, especially in the Niger Delta where oil production is concentrated.
Nbani stressed that awareness remains key to achieving a just transition.
"We must not assume that they know, so we must from community to community sensitize the people, educate the people on the importance of this transition. A just transition that will not affect livelihood, that will not affect life and will not also affect the economy. It is not by force, it is knowledge, it is wisdom and the application of it," he said.
He said the network will summarize its resolutions and present them to government, while continuing to push for increased funding for renewable energy. He listed increased investment in renewable energy and climate finance as part of AJTN's key demands for COP31.
"If we have a lot of funding flowing into climate finance compared to what flows into dirty energy, then we might get it right," he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), Dr. Michael Terungwa David, questioned the level of budgetary commitment to energy transition and clean cooking in Nigeria.
"How many budget lines in this country talk about energy and energy transition or clean energy? For example, let's look at clean cooking in Nigeria. How many Nigerian kitchens can afford gas? How many people are using firewood? All of these impact the environment and also impact the health of rural women," he said.
Dr. David noted that Nigeria has several policies in place, including the Just Transition Policy, the Climate Change Act and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but implementation remains the major challenge.
"What is lacking is the implementation of the policy. But also what is even more lacking is that many of the policies are at the top, at the federal government level. They don't translate to the states," he said.
He urged state and local governments to take advantage of the Electricity Act, which empowers states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, to provide energy access to their people.
He called for more investment in clean energy, especially clean cooking energy, to reduce pollution, protect forests and save women from health hazards associated with firewood use.
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