Society launches survey on subnational action on climate change

The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) in collaboration with the Centre for Climate Change and Development(CCCD), Alex Ekwueme University, Ebonyi State has launched a nationwide survey on sub-national action on climate change.

Director, CCCD, Alex Ekwueme University, Ebonyi State, Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.

Okereke said the survey aims to collect stakeholders’ perspectives on the impact of climate change on Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja, as well as actions taken by the states to adapt to climate change in their respective jurisdictions.

He also said the survey seeks to identify the nature and breadth of climate policies and projects being implemented across the Federation’s states.

According to him, “The study is part of a project being undertaken by the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), a Nigerian registered NGO, to help raise awareness of climate change at the sub-national level in Nigeria.”

Okereke, who is also the President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SPP, stated that the initiative was envisioned as a first step to galvanise awareness for climate action at sub-national levels in Nigeria and ensure improved climate change action and resilience among state actors.

He said the project will assess the level of climate change awareness and action in the Federation’s 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as the willingness of states to engage and increase their action, and the type of support they will require from national and international development partners in this regard.

“There had long been a realisation that most climate action and policy in Nigeria has been centred at the national level, with very few actions taking place at the state level.

“The initiative provides an opportunity to document what is happening at the state level and determine which states are leaders and which are laggards in climate policy and action,” he said.

The professor added that the project would assess Nigerian states based on their degrees of climate action, as well as their needs and priorities, and will create an evidence base to promote climate awareness and action at the sub-national level in Nigeria.

“The project outcome will be of benefit to many people within and outside Nigeria including the Nigeria Governors Forum which has recently announced their intention to partner with various agencies to address the menace of flooding in their states and international development partners that will be looking to fund climate change action at the subnational level in Nigeria.

“To participate in the survey, click the link https://bit.ly/3PSCXYJ,” Okereke said.

The Society for Planet and Prosperity is a Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) devoted to advancing action to enhance environmentally sustainable economic growth in Africa.