Professor Emmanuel Oladipo, an environmental consultant and one of Nigeria’s lead negotiators at COP25 has identified some limitations, including insufficient research, that impede developing nations in Africa for getting the best from international negotiations.
Speaking to a group of youth delegates at the ongoing climate conference in Madrid, Spain, Profesor Oladipo said that it was good that the developing world now recognises the urgency of climate action. He added that there was the need for youths to understand what is expected of them.
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He said: “Addressing Climate Change is costly. It will cost us lots of money, so the conversation should not just be on how to get the money but mobilise other resources too. Youths must see this as the beginning of a long struggle. The climate with continue to change, this means we have a challenge that no one knows when it will end.
“Youths need to be strategic, climate action is beyond carrying placards and shouting, you need to add more to your knowledge and research so that you can have science evidence-based materials to negotiate.”
Stressing the need for research, Prof Oladipo said that “A major challenge we face in many of the developing countries is that while the developed countries will come with models built from results of analyses that proofs their position, we mostly end up using conjured presentations that may not be scientific.”