The
West African regional bloc, Ecowas, has organised a three-day workshop to
strengthen the capacity of the media, civil society organisations and the
private sector in the sub-region to effectively play their respective roles to
tackle climate change.
The
seminar, held from 13 to 15 July at the Ecowas Commission in Abuja, Nigeria,
was part of the bloc’s strategic plan on the reduction of vulnerability and
increase adaptation to climate change in West Africa.
During
the programme, the representatives from West African networks of civil society
organisations, media and the private sector were sensitised on the Paris
Agreement.
They
were also taken through the politics and process of international negotiations
on climate change that have led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement on 12
December 2015.
Dr
Johnson Boanuh, director of the Ecowas Commission Environment Directorate, said
the Paris Agreement was signed at a time when the effects of climate change are
“indeed relevant and increasingly obvious”.
He
said although the latest Assessment Report of the intergovernmental panel on
climate has it that climato-skeptics need to be convinced, the consequences of
climate change are multifaceted and are there for everyone to see.
Research
has it that climate change is responsible for the frequent sea level rise,
droughts and floods recurrently affecting peoples’ lives and livelihood, and
their living environment as well as any sustainable development initiatives.
“The
global response to these changes has led to the adoption of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol in 1992
and 1997, respectively,” Dr Boanuh said.
The
convention and protocol were adopted with a view to consider what should be
made to reduce the global warming and temperatures.
The
last Conference of the Parties, dubbed COP21, held from 30 November to 12
December 2015 in Paris, France, resulted in the adoption of the Paris Agreement
on climate change.
“This
agreement was reached, thanks to the contribution of a variety of stakeholders
including civil society organisations, the private sector and the media,
through calls and movements of pressure on the international community for more
involvement in combating the adverse effects of climate change,” the senior
Ecowas official said.
“Like
all other countries that are parties to the UNFCCC, the Ecowas member states
have already signed this agreement which was opened for signature in New York
at the UN Headquarters on 22nd April 2016.”
However,
no West African country is yet to ratify the agreement, thus the officials
tasked the media and the CSOs to embark on intensive advocacy for the
ratification and subsequent implementation of the agreement.
Dr
Boanuh said the Ecowas Commission would “fully play its part” to provide
information to relevant actors in order to facilitate stakeholders contribution
to the fight against climate change.
Towards
the end of the three-day workshop, each of the three groups of stakeholders
have identified potential contributions, and steps to be taken at both regional
and national levels for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement,
and the fight against climate change in West Africa.
