The ECOWAS Parliament has sounded the alarm over the escalating security and humanitarian fallout of climate change in West Africa, demanding coordinated regional action to confront worsening environmental pressures.
The warning came as the lawmakers concluded a weeklong seminar examining how droughts, floods, coastal erosion and environmental degradation are driving displacement and insecurity across West Africa.
The regional parliamentarians recommended establishing a Regional Climate Resilience Fund, strengthening early-warning systems, expanding agroforestry and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.
Speaker Mémounatou Ibrahima pointed to intensifying droughts, floods and receding coastlines as mounting pressures on vulnerable populations.
Declaring the seminar closed, she urged lawmakers to translate its recommendations into action, reinforcing ECOWAS efforts to build a peaceful, resilient and prosperous West Africa.
Among the recommendations emerging from the deliberations were the establishment of a Regional Climate Resilience Fund, the strengthening of early-warning systems, and the promotion of agroforestry and renewable energy.
The Speaker also called for inclusive climate policies, equitable access to climate finance and stronger parliamentary oversight of the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions and regional commitments.
“The time has come for action,” she declared, urging Members of Parliament to take the lessons and recommendations of the seminar back to their respective Member States and advocate for their implementation.
Ibrahima reaffirmed Parliament’s commitment to regional integration, climate resilience and collective security, and assured participants that the seminar’s conclusions would be transmitted to the competent authorities and subjected to rigorous follow-up.
She said political will, innovation and regional cooperation could turn climate-related challenges into opportunities for resilience, sustainable development and stronger regional stability.
Ibrahima also demanded inclusive climate policies, equitable climate-finance access and stronger parliamentary oversight of Nationally Determined Contributions and regional climate commitments.
The discussions underscored climate change as more than an environmental challenge, with its consequences increasingly threatening livelihoods, population stability, development and regional security.
On the seminar’s final day, a documentary illustrated climate impacts across sectors, followed by country reports from Côte d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Togo and Nigeria.
The presentations offered national perspectives on emerging climate threats and responses, highlighting the need to move from isolated interventions towards stronger regional coordination.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was held under the theme: “Climate Change as A Driver of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Rising Insecurity.”
The seminar aimed at enabling the regional parliamentarians, experts and other stakeholders to interrogate the link between climate change, population displacement and rising insecurity in West Africa.(NAN)
