The Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Peter Tarfa, has said that the Federal Government of Nigeria is willing to work closely with young people to address climate change and its resultant effects in the country.
Dr Tarfa said this at the close of the Youth Climate Innovation Hub for the South-East zone which was held recently in Owerri, Imo State.
The regional hubs aim to harvest and collate climate-focused innovations and ideas that can be showcased at the UN Climate Action Summit this Month. The National Youth Climate Innovation Hub will be the climax of the regional idea gathering process and the outcomes will be integrated into the working document reflecting Nigeria’s current efforts to address climate change.
Addressing over 50 participants at the Owerri event, Dr Tarfa said, “We hope to have this event annually. We are sure your facilitators have your details, so be assured that the department will include you in the mailing list to inform you about the outcomes of this programme and to notify you about subsequent programmes relating to climate change in Nigeria.
“We are going to have the national climate innovation event soon in Abuja and it is going to be a high-level gathering. We will bring some of these youth-led ideas to the table, so I expect to see good implementable solutions to climate change that we can replicate in the nation.”
The director also assured youths at the event that the minister of environment and the minister of state are willing to interact with young people on climate action. He thanked the UNDP in Nigeria for the support provided in executing the project and praised the coordinating teams for their efforts at delivering the project excellently.
The Youth Climate Innovation Hub is a project by the Federal Ministry of Environment, Department of Climate Change, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria.
The project is simultaneously coordinated by the International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI Africa) in North-Central Zones and North-East zones; Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in South-South and South-East; and Talent Plus Resources Initiative in South-West and North-West.
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