Accra:The ECOWAS Parliament has highlighted significant challenges in addressing West Africa’s climate crisis, noting that while strategies exist, the region lacks the necessary implementation, funding, and political will to effectively tackle the issue.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, during the closing of its Second Extraordinary Session, the Parliament emphasized that climate change is an escalating threat impacting not just the environment, but also displacement, insecurity, and instability within the sub-region.
Speaker Memounatou Ibrahima noted that the Parliament’s credibility would be judged by its ability to deliver concrete improvements for citizens. Ibrahima pointed out that the region’s primary issues are not a lack of strategies or instruments, but rather insufficient funding and political will to convert existing frameworks into real benefits.
Guinean lawmaker Bademba Baldé shared that the discussions identified the lack of effective implementation, funding, and national ownership as maj
or obstacles to regional climate action. The Parliament’s analysis links climate vulnerability to security issues, such as displacement and competition over resources, which are interconnected challenges in the region.
The recommendations from the Parliament extend beyond environmental protection, advocating for climate resilience to be integrated into national budgets, development plans, and policies related to land use, conflict prevention, and disaster-risk reduction.
The Parliament is calling on ECOWAS leaders to explore establishing a regional climate-resilience and human-security fund, with the Commission expected to develop a five-year implementation roadmap. The discussions from Accra underscore that the climate challenge in West Africa is becoming a test of governance, questioning whether regional institutions can transform ambitious resolutions into funded, measurable actions.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the week-long event was themed ‘Climate Change as A Driver of Environmental Degra
dation, Population Displacement and Rising Insecurity,’ focusing on the link between climate change and regional security concerns.