Experts brainstorm on how to address climate change

Academics, leaders of thought, policymakers, human rights practitioners, and advocates from across African Continent on Wednesday, gathered in Abuja to discuss how to address climate change and its intersection with human rights.

The experts lamented the impact of climate change in Africa and added that climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is a human rights crisis that threatens lives, livelihoods, and the very essence of human dignity.

Speaking on Wednesday, at the opening ceremony of the three-day Regional Africa Human Rights Academic Network Conference 2025, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN decried the impact of environmental degradation and climate change on human rights across the globe, and within the African continent.

The impacts, he said, are no longer a distant threat but a present-day reality, with far-reaching consequences for vulnerable communities, particularly those who are marginalized and impoverished.

According to the NHRC boss, “Africa contributes the least to global carbon emissions but yet bears a disproportionate burden of climate change. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, desertification, and extreme weather events are no longer distant threats—they are happening now.

“In Nigeria, floods displace thousands annually, droughts threaten food security, and rising sea levels put coastal communities at risk. From the north to south of Nigeria, the movement of pastoralists in search of grazing land has exacerbated conflicts and insecurity.

“The impacts of climate change have dire consequences for human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water, and shelter”, he said and added that climate justice demands that those who suffer the most from climate change receive adequate support and protection and urged that, governments and institutions, including the National Human Rights Institutions, must take decisive action to safeguard human rights in the face of climate change.

In response to the pressing challenges posed by climate change, the NHRC has approved the establishment of a Climate Change Unit.

The unit, he said will promote advocacy, build a community of practice of human rights and climate change, facilitate collaboration and networking, enhance research and capacity-building on the undeniable impact of climate change on human rights.

This step, according to Ojukwu signified the commitment of the Commission to addressing the issues around human rights and climate change, in line with global initiatives on climate change and Africa’s aspirations for sustainable development.

In his speech at the conference, with the theme “Human Rights, Environment, and Climate Change: Access to Environmental and Climate Justice within the Regional and Sub-Regional Human Rights Systems in Africa”, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Fall said, climate crisis is more than an environmental issue—it is a human rights emergency.

Across Africa, he said, rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation disproportionately impact those in vulnerable situations, including women, the elderly, youth, and persons with disabilities.

He said it is an injustice for those who contribute the least to climate change to bear its worst consequences.

According to him, “They will bear the cost of a crisis they did not create. This is not just unfair; it is a deep betrayal of future generations. Land loss, food insecurity, water scarcity, and displacement resulting from climate change are daily realities for millions, including in Nigeria.

“This human rights crisis deepens inequalities, exacerbates poverty, and threatens peace and stability. When environmental degradation denies people access to clean water, food, and livelihoods, it violates fundamental human rights—the right to life, health, and dignity”, he said.

He noted that Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads as it is at the frontlines of climate change, facing severe desertification in the north, erosion and rising sea levels in the south, and erratic weather patterns disrupting agriculture and livelihoods.

The conference which has the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on Climate Change secretariat/presidential envoy on climate change, Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe as special guest of honour with the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria Nsuka, Prof. Festus Ukwueze, Regional Director for Africa, Rakel Larsen and Raoul Waltenberg of the Institute of humanitarian law in attendance.

Maduekwe, who lamented the impact of climate change on Nigerians and the country, used the opportunity to present copies of the Climate Change Act, 2021 to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC.