President Bola Tinubu has formally launched the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour (REHCCAT), a nationwide initiative aimed at promoting climate resilience and sustainable development across Nigeria.
The President, represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who launched REHCCAT at the State House, Abuja, called on governors, the private sector, and other stakeholders to spearhead Nigeria’s climate transition and transform awareness into concrete action.
According to him: “Today we launch a movement, the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour, it is more than a program of events across our state, it is a national call to action, a call to innovation and opportunity.
“Climate change is no longer a distant focus. It is here. It affects our farmers in the north who are facing the encroachment of the drought. It affects our coastal communities in the south, which are confronted with erosion and flooding across the country.
“It affects our businesses, management of energy costs, and supply chain disruption, and it affects our young people whose future depends on the choices we make today.
“Let me be clear. Climate change is not only about risk. It’s about opportunity. Nigeria stands at a defining moment in history. The global transition to low-carbon development is accelerating. Capital is shifting. Markets are evolving. Technology is transforming industries. And the nations that position themselves wisely today will lead tomorrow. We intend to be one of those nations.
“Through this tour, we will take climate awareness beyond conference halls into communities. We will engage governors and traditional rulers. We will work with students, innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, and financial institutions.
“We will identify bankable projects, we will unlock local solutions and we will strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to mobiliseclimate finance on scale.”
Tinubu stated that Nationally Determined Contributions are more than just documents, emphasising that they represent commitments to reduce emissions, enhance resilience, and safeguard communities.
He further said, “But commitments must be matched with action. And action must be supported by investment.
“This tour helps bridge that gap. We will use it to catalyse project pipelines, at the sub-national level, we will also use it to deepen our understanding of carbon markets and green finance.
“We will use it to mobilise partnerships between the public and the private sector. And we will use it to inspire a new generation of climate leaders.
“To our governors, we are set as the engine of climate resilience and green growth. To the private sector, the future economy will reward those who innovate boldly and invest responsibly. To our development partners, Nigeria is ready to collaborate with transparency, ambition, and accountability.
“As our young people, this transition belongs to you. Your ideas, your technology, your entrepreneurship will shape the Nigeria of tomorrow. This aligns with our Renewed Hope Agenda. An agenda that recognises that sustainable development, energy security, food security, and economic growth are not competing priorities. There are interconnected pillars of national prosperity. Climate finance is not a charity. It is a strategic investment.
“Climate resilience is not optional; it is national security and climate leadership is not a budget. It is a result we accept with confidence. As we plan this tour today, let us know that Nigeria chooses leadership over hesitation.”
Earlier in his remarks, Lawal, who was represented by the Director, Federal Forestry, Halima Bawa, said that consolidating climate governance at the state level through performance rankings, institutional reforms, and inter-state collaboration frameworks would position Nigeria as an emerging leader in climate action across Africa.
The Minister underscored the urgency of confronting climate change, noting that its effects are already evident across Nigeria from desert encroachment in the North and flooding in riverine communities to coastal erosion in the South and erratic rainfall patterns affecting farmers nationwide.
His words: “Climate change is no longer an abstract global discussion. It is here with us, from desert encroachment in the North, to flooding across our riverine communities, to coastal erosion in the South, and changing rainfall patterns affecting our farmers nationwide, showing the impacts are real, and actions, urgent.
“Nigeria has responded with decisive leadership. The enactment of the Climate Change Act 2021 established a historic legal framework for coordinated climate governance, carbon budgeting, and a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060.
“It institutionalised climate action across all sectors in the country, signaling Nigeria’s solemnity under the Paris Agreement. However, climate governance must move beyond the federal level; it must be domesticated at the subnational and grassroots levels.”
The Ministry, he stated, has partnered with state governments to formalise climate governance structures, including appointing Subnational Directors of Climate Change and establishing Climate Change Desks across state Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to drive coordinated policy implementation.
“The climate future lies with the youth. Through the Eco-School Initiative, we are mainstreaming environmental education and climate awareness in schools across Nigeria.
“Furthermore, the Ministry implemented the Youth Climate Innovation Hub, a platform designed to harness climate innovative ideas and continue to interface with young people for the implementation of practical climate solutions.
“The Uni-Go-Green Initiative aims to empower young Nigerians with skills and mentorship in green entrepreneurship, climate technology, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, circular economy solutions, and digital climate services.
“We want Nigerian youths not only to advocate for climate action but also to build businesses and careers around it.”
Lawal stressed that climate action must reach the grassroots, describing the tour as a national movement and urging governments, the private sector, civil society, and citizens to actively drive climate solutions.
The Guest Speaker, Prof. Babajide Alo, who presented a paper titled ‘Securing Our Climate Future: Empowering Communities for a Resilient Nigeria,’ emphasised that building a climate-resilient future requires moving from top-down technocratic approaches to locally led adaptation.
He stated, “To secure our Climate future, develop our economy and improve our resilience, built on sustainable development, we should therefore revisit our priorities and lifestyles, imbibe responsible consumption and production, and enforce the reduction of carbon footprints in all sectors in line with the severity of emerging Climate Change challenges.
“We need to improve our subnationals drastically -the States – climate action and climate readiness by improving their capacities. Increase climate education and awareness at the subnational level, especially at the grassroots and empower our Local Governments and communities at the Subnational levels and enhance their access to resources and capacity to implement. Through that we, we can foster sustainable, adaptive, and prosperous communities.”
Deji Elumoye
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