Expert trains 30 youths on climate change advocacy

Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, an expert in climate change and development, has trained over 30 youths in Enugu State on urban spaces greening and climate advocacy.

Okereke, an awardee of the prestigious International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) Impact Award, said the two-day event took place in Enugu state from Aug. 15th to 16th 2023.

He said the first day training focused on Climate Change: “Science and Policy”, while the second day was on “Effective Climate Change Communication”.

According to him, the choice to participate in the IVLP selection process is very thorough.
“You cannot apply to participate in the IVLP; participants are nominated and selected annually by staff at US Embassies around the world.

“The participants are current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields and some notable IVLP alumni include; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of The United Kingdom to mention but a few,” Okereke said.

He quoted Dr Daniel Ugwu of David Umahi University of Health Sciences, while speaking on the topic “Understanding the Links between Climate Change and Air Pollution: Causes, Impact, and Solution” as saying that the link between climate change and air pollution was that both were products of Green House Gas emission.

Ugwu said improper waste disposal and indiscriminate burning of refuse dump stands were the major causes of air pollution in urban areas.

He mentioned some of the solutions to air pollution in urban cities to include awareness creation, and reviving eco-friendly traditional values and practices, among others.

He added that during the rainy season, some communities in Aninri and Oji River, Local Government of the state were always affected by flooding.

“I will like to work with you the young climate leaders because your activities are part of the core values of the state Ministry of Environment so I encourage you to do proposals to the ministry on areas of collaboration,” Ugwu said.

He promised the young leaders that he would ensure that the Enugu state environmental law was passed so that the environmental protection of Enugu state would l have strong legal backing.

Okereke said the next step of the project would include planting trees within Enugu urban area by the young leaders and carrying out climate change education in selected secondary schools within Enugu city.

He urged the participants to design any campaign on climate action that they would like to embark on as a way of implementing what they learnt from the training.

He added that the project was funded by the United States Department of States with Meridian International as the implementing partner. Okereke said Prof. Anene Moneke, Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Control at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, spoke on the topic “ Gas Flaring and Air Quality Issue.”

Moneke said that air pollution in Nigeria contributes to untimely death and other ailments. He said it would be great if the training of young climate leaders could expand to other parts of the country, especially the South-South geopolitical zone, where the issue of gas flaring is almost making the area inhabitable.

He said the planting of trees was healthy because they give out oxygen as against the common practice of using concrete slabs that produce heat to cement the floors of compounds where people live.

Okereke also said that Dr Chinwe Ogunji of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State and Mrs Ogechi Nwonye, Executive Director of Eco-Cyclers, spoke on effective climate change communication.

He said that both agreed that the greatest difference between communicating climate change and other science topics was the call to action either explicit or implicit to reduce the effects of climate change.

The experts said that the action could come through climate change education, to raise awareness on the impact of climate change and to take the lead on how to protect the environment as climate change affect all and sundry. Okereke quoted Mr Arum Nnamdi, the Director of Climate Change Department, Enugu State Ministry of Environment, as saying that the state was threatened by desert encroachment.

Nnamdi said if care was not taken through tree planting, the situation could get worse.
He listed some local governments currently battling erosion in the state as: Udi, Nsukka and Igbo Etiti, among others.

NAN / Foluke Ibitomi