Nigeria calls for urgent global action to confront the human causes of climate change, protect vulnerable communities and build resilient food systems.
STATEMENT FOR COP17 MONGOLIA
By Comrade AbdulHakeem Mutiu Adejumo-Ajeseku
CEO | Head of Communication, Research and Strategies, BTV Online TV, Radio and Publication: Climate and Peacebuilding Reporters (BTV-CPR), Abuja, Nigeria
In partnership with Islamic Green Club Empowerment Initiative (IGCE)
Climate and Science Journalist, African Climate Reporters (ACR)
Member, African Institute of Waste Management
BTvNEWS: The climate crisis confronting the world today is neither accidental nor inevitable. The “heated globe” we face is the consequence of decades of human activities that have disrupted natural systems and overturned environmental arrangements that sustained communities for generations. Fossil-fuel dependence, deforestation, destructive land-use practices, industrial pollution, unsustainable agriculture, poor waste management, uncontrolled urbanisation and excessive consumption have placed unprecedented pressure on the atmosphere, ecosystems and natural resources.
For Nigeria and other climate-vulnerable countries, the consequences are no longer distant warnings; they are increasingly visible in extreme heat, devastating floods, drought, land degradation, declining agricultural productivity, water insecurity and the displacement of vulnerable communities.
As the global community gathers around the agenda of “Restoring Climate Justice and Food Sovereignty,” COP17 Mongolia must be more than another international climate conference. It must become a platform for confronting the structural inequalities embedded in the climate crisis. Communities that have contributed least to historical greenhouse-gas emissions are often among those suffering the greatest consequences.
Farmers, pastoralists, fishing communities, women, children, indigenous and local communities and low-income households frequently bear disproportionate climate burdens despite having limited resources to adapt. Climate justice therefore demands that those most responsible for environmental degradation and historical emissions accept greater responsibility for financing solutions, while vulnerable countries and communities receive meaningful support to adapt, recover and build resilient economies.
Nigeria must recognise that climate change is fundamentally connected to food security and national development. Extreme temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, flooding, drought, soil degradation and changing ecological conditions are placing increasing pressure on agricultural production and rural livelihoods. Food sovereignty requires more than producing sufficient food; it requires protecting the ability of communities and nations to make sustainable decisions about their food systems, seeds, land, water and agricultural priorities.
Nigeria must therefore promote climate-smart and regenerative agriculture, strengthen local food systems, support smallholder farmers, protect agricultural land, reduce post-harvest losses, improve irrigation and water management, preserve indigenous knowledge and encourage sustainable farming practices that restore rather than exhaust the soil.
The energy and environmental dimensions of the crisis must also be confronted with urgency. Nigeria’s dependence on fossil fuels, widespread use of petrol and diesel generators, gas flaring, inefficient transportation systems and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption require a decisive transition towards cleaner and more resilient alternatives.
At the same time, forests, wetlands, mangroves, grasslands and other ecosystems must be treated as critical national assets rather than expendable resources. Deforestation, indiscriminate logging, charcoal production, uncontrolled development and ecosystem destruction weaken natural climate defences while accelerating biodiversity loss. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems must therefore become central to Nigeria’s climate strategy.
Waste management must equally become an integral part of climate policy. Open burning, poorly managed dumpsites, indiscriminate disposal, inadequate recycling and inefficient wastewater management contribute to pollution, public-health risks and greenhouse-gas emissions while wasting valuable resources. Nigeria needs to accelerate the transition from a linear “take, make and discard” economy to a circular economy built on reduction, reuse, repair, recycling, recovery and responsible production.
Governments must invest in modern waste infrastructure, while industries and consumers must accept greater responsibility for the environmental consequences of products and packaging. A cleaner Nigeria is not merely an environmental aspiration; it is a public-health, economic, climate and dignity imperative.
This statement therefore calls upon the Federal Government, state governments and local governments of Nigeria to strengthen climate governance, enforce environmental regulations and translate national climate commitments into measurable programmes that reach communities. Climate budgets must be transparent, climate finance must be properly tracked, adaptation projects must respond to local realities, and early-warning systems must be strengthened to protect lives and livelihoods.
Renewable and decentralised energy should be accelerated, public transportation improved, climate-resilient infrastructure expanded, forests and wetlands protected, degraded ecosystems restored, and climate-smart agriculture scaled. Climate action must become embedded in national economic planning rather than treated as an isolated environmental programme.
The responsibility, however, does not belong to governments alone. Journalists and media organisations must investigate climate-related policies, expose environmental violations, amplify vulnerable voices and consistently report solutions and accountability. Scientists and researchers must generate credible, accessible and locally relevant evidence to guide decision-making. Civil society organisations, NGOs, development partners, professional bodies and other non-state actors must strengthen advocacy, public education, community mobilisation and climate accountability.
Businesses must invest in sustainable technologies and responsible production, while citizens must reduce waste, protect natural resources, conserve energy, support sustainable food systems and demand environmental responsibility from those entrusted with public authority. Climate communication must move from occasional disaster reporting to sustained public-interest journalism capable of connecting science, policy, livelihoods and human security.
From Nigeria to Mongolia and across the Global South, the message to COP17 must be unequivocal: there can be no genuine climate justice without accountability, no food sovereignty without resilient ecosystems, and no sustainable development without protecting the communities whose livelihoods depend on nature. We call on governments, international institutions, scientists, journalists, civil society, NGOs, non-state actors, businesses and citizens to transform climate commitments into measurable action.
COP17 Mongolia must strengthen solidarity with climate-vulnerable communities, advance equitable access to climate finance and technology, protect food systems and recognise the central role of local communities in restoring ecosystems. The heated globe is a warning created largely by human choices; humanity must now make different choices. Nigeria must not merely report the climate crisis—we must organise, innovate, invest and act to overcome it. The time to restore climate justice, defend food sovereignty and secure a resilient future is now.
Email: btvnewsnigeria@gmail.com; goldenmirrorcommunicationsltd@gmail.com; abdulhakeem.ajeseku002@gmail.com
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