The Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Mr. Benjamin Kalu has proposed structured legislative interventions across the globe as an urgent parliamentary action to address climate-related disasters and strengthen resilience in vulnerable regions.
Kalu was speaking on Thursday during a debate on ‘Urgent Parliamentary Action to Address Climate-related Disasters and Strengthen Resilience” at the ongoing 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Arusha, Tanzania.
He said the debate must move beyond pledges to practical, bankable legislative actions that deliver for people and economies.
The Deputy Speaker stated that the structured global legislative intervention should however be built on two pillars of an investor-ready pipeline of priority projects across clean energy, transport, agriculture, resilient infrastructure and circular economy; and a project-preparation and transaction-support platform that helps move viable projects from concept to bankability, financing and implementation.
Kalu urged lawmakers to see themselves as architects of legal certainty and public accountability required for a resilient, competitive and sustainable economy, combining sound legislation, credible institutions, sub-national innovation and international capital to transform the goals of the Paris Agreement into practical progress.
“Across the globe, farmers are confronting irregular rainfall and declining yields; coastal communities are facing erosion and rising waters; businesses are losing productive hours to unreliable energy; and cities are struggling with flooding that overwhelms drainage systems and infrastructure.” Kalu noted.
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The Deputy Speaker said “Our people are already living with the consequences of extreme weather, flooding, land degradation, food insecurity and climate-related displacement. Climate finance must
therefore support both emissions reduction and human resilience.
“As legislators, we should understand that legislation must not remain a statement of intent. It must become an instrument of delivery.
“Lawmakers are not just observers of the climate crisis, but as architects of the legal certainty and public accountability required for a resilient, competitive and sustainable economy.
“Today, I propose that this debate should not end as another important conversation. It should become the beginning of a structured legislative intervention across the globe.
“First, it should support the development of an investor-ready pipeline of priority projects across clean energy, transport, agriculture, resilient infrastructure and the circular economy.
“Second, it should establish a project-preparation and transaction-support platform that helps move viable projects from concept to bankability, financing and implementation.
“This is how ambition becomes action. This is how policy becomes finance. And this is how finance becomes infrastructure, jobs, resilience and shared prosperity.
“Distinguished colleagues, we can combine sound legislation, credible institutions, subnational innovation and international capital to transform the goals of the Paris Agreement into practical progress for the people of Nigeria and other developing countries”.
Mr. Kalu argued that for Nigeria, climate action is not an abstract environmental aspiration, but a livelihood and economic issue.
“For Nigeria, climate action is not an abstract environmental aspiration, but about whether a farmer can harvest despite changing rainfall patterns; whether a family can access affordable and reliable electricity; whether a young person can find dignified work in a modern economy; whether our cities can withstand floods; and whether Africa’s largest economy can industrialise without reproducing the environmental vulnerabilities of the past,” he said.
He lamented the delays in implementations of agreements, saying that for too long, the international climate dialogue has been defined by ambitious pledges that have not been matched by adequate, accessible and affordable finance for developing countries.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu said Nigeria is presenting investment opportunities at the Assembly, seeking financing for commercially viable, climate-resilient projects under its Energy Transition Plan. He said achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 will require about $500 billion in additional capital, creating opportunities in renewable energy, infrastructure, clean cooking, agriculture, transport, waste management and green manufacturing.
Kalu also stressed the need for adaptation investments, including flood control, resilient infrastructure and climate-smart solutions.
He outlined legislative measures to strengthen climate laws, green finance, investor protection and transparent project approvals, while emphasising that Nigeria’s green transition must be inclusive, create jobs, expand affordable energy access and ensure no community is left behind.
