Towards a Proactive Climate Action Plan

Being the Text of a Keynote Address by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the Flag-off of a 2-day Stakeholder Engagement Session on Climate Change Put Together by the Abia State Ministry of Environment on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia

Protocols

1. Our survival as a race is largely dependent on how we respond to the threats and actual dangers that confront the human community. On the strength of painstaking scientific findings, individual observations and experiences, changes in climatic conditions have become a major threat to our shared future. Evidence of this foreboding reality is manifest in the frequent irregularities in weather conditions and seasons, drought and desert encroachment leading to scramble for farmlands and food insecurity, displacement of populations, and poverty for tens of millions of people.
2. Over the years, our response to the unusual trends in climate conditions has gone from plain disinterest to outright cynicism. It has become popular for many to dismiss concerns about the climate as either unimportant to our reality as a developing nation or treat it as a conspiracy by some powerful interests to advance a hideous agenda. To the cynics, the challenges of hunger, poverty and poor public infrastructure are more pressing for our communities than any conversations around changes in the state of the climate.
3. While it will be unfair to dismiss the position of those who insist that we should focus more on the elementary realities of development in the short to medium term, the time has come for us to take a more profound look at the challenges we face in our economic and social lives and try to ask a few soul-searching questions about human activities and how they affect the ability of the natural environment to continue to support life on earth. How, for example, does certain agricultural practices, industrial processes, different modes of transport and construction activities affect the fertility of the land and natural state of the water bodies, the delicate balance of oxygen supply and carbon emission, and the quality of air that we breathe?
4. One lesson we have learnt from a careful study of development across epochs is the importance of new paradigms in the way we interact with the earth and the resources it supplies to support life. Poverty, loss of farmlands through flooding and desert encroachment, and the steady decline in food supplies are direct consequences of man’s interaction which the natural environment which have brought about disruptions in the natural sequence of seasons. This explains why it is becoming increasingly hard to predict seasons and plan for our activities as we did in times past.
5. Climate change is therefore a real threat, and the earlier we began to articulate our responses as stakeholders, the better our chances of mitigating the harsh impact and the subsequent misery that will certainly follow from inaction. On this note distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me happily welcome you to this stakeholder engagement event which promises to open our eyes to the practical realities of climate change and what we can do in terms of public enlightenment and most importantly, policy formulation and enforcement. This will enable us to take full advantage of the new vista of opportunities that have been opened to us by years of research, technological innovation and breakthrough, and of course, partnerships that guarantee superior development outcomes, especially for our communities and businesses.
6. I am glad to see many notable subject matter experts, policy makers and regulators from federal and state institutions, members of the civil society organisations, and other very distinguished guests in our midst. Thank you for the huge sacrifices you have made to be present to share your wealth of knowledge with our people as we prepare to up the ante on climate change response in this part of the world. This event will definitely send a clear message to the world that here in Abia, climate change is a subject we take very seriously because as a government, we know what is at stake.
7. Let me specially commend the State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Philemon Asonye Ogbonna, and his entire team in the ministry for their dedication to the cause of mitigating the crisis of climate change through strong administrative initiatives, public enlightenment and hopefully at the end of this event, would emerge, a robust policy framework that will serve as our compass as we navigate what promises to be a complex future.
8. Recall that one of the earliest decisions we took on assumption of office was the setting up of a Climate Change Department in the State Ministry of Environment to coordinate our response to changes in the climatic conditions as they affect our local communities. I am glad that the department hit the ground running almost immediately, mobilising community leaders and other stakeholders to rise to the demand of mitigating the impact of climate change in the State. As most people know, every plan and programme we have for the future is dependent on our ability to preserve our natural environment. This involves the development of a new template, through relevant institutional structures, to manage how we interact with nature in our day-to-day activities as farmers, manufacturers, traders, or regular domestic and industrial energy consumers.
9. We understand that an effective climate action requires a reliable data bank. In line with this awareness, we have been very meticulous in building our climate database, focusing on key impact metrics as they affect different communities. In the oil producing regions of Ukwa, we are attentive to the effects of oil exploration activities on the natural vegetation, farmlands, and water bodies. In the other districts in the State, we try to keep our eyes on the influx of herders from different parts of the country in response to desert encroachment, and how their movement affects the local farmers and their crops. We are also keeping track of communities facing environmental threats arising from gully erosion, flooding and deforestation.
10. We are not just gathering data for the fun of it. The data we collate drive our patterns of spending on challenges related to the environment. Presently, gully erosion control projects are on-going at several locations in the State. These projects are initiated to save lives and property, and also reclaim land areas that could have been washed away.
11. It will also interest this distinguished audience to know that our forest reserves are now better managed because we are committed to expanding the layers of environmental buffers around the State. We have also stepped up supervisory activities around our water bodies to stem the tide of pollution, and also mitigate threats arising from the activities of economic adventurers.
12. The State has elected to adopt an integrated approach in dealing with the threats of climate change because as I mentioned at the beginning, everything is intricately connected. In the 2024 fiscal year, we made substantial provisions to finance our climate actions. Even then, we have also integrated many important infrastructure projects, including the “Light Up Abia” initiative, to conform to our climate response framework. In this regard, we are actively installing energy-efficient lights using solar technology to increase night time visibility on our major roads and walkways.
13. Our on-going and recently completed projects in the public schools and health institutions like the Amachara General Hospital, and Abia State Specialist and Diagnostics Centre Umuahia have been fully equipped with energy-efficient solutions that have not only reduced our carbon footprints as a State, but have also cut down on our energy spending, supported standard preservation and safety provisions, and generally improved service delivery at these institutions.
14. Recently, I directed the State Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities to engage with the management of the Abia State University to develop an alternative energy framework to address the perennial power problems in the school. We shall extend this effort to other tertiary institutions in the State. We believe that renewable energy is the way to go for reasons of cost effectiveness, and climate friendliness. Our grand vision is to power all government buildings in the State with suitable eco-friendly energy systems, tapping into the abundant renewable energy sources in our environment.
15. At the moment, the State is developing a robust policy framework for off-grid energy solutions to support economic and social activities, especially in the rural areas. A stakeholder engagement framework similar to what we are doing here today took place in the State last week. The programme had in attendance, heads of various government agencies, development partners and other interested parties.
16. We are determined to drive many of our agricultural projects using renewable sources of energy generated through solar and wind channels. I am also pleased to announce that the State is in serious conversation with very notable development partners to drive our waste-to-wealth initiative. We hope to make the most of the large amount of waste generated in our urban centres by converting them to useful, reusable products. I am optimistic that between now and the end of the year, significant progress must have been made in this regard. This strategy will be used to improve our environmental sanitation standards, create jobs and generate wealth.
17. As this programme formally kicks off, we are very hopeful that the eggheads here will carefully streamline ideas and insights that will put us in a vantage position to deal with the threats of climate change arising from the ignorance and indecision of the past, and also prepare us to make the most of the many opportunities that are emerging in terms of partnerships, and support from development institutions. Abia, I can assure you, is ready to run with the sound policy ideas that are certain to come from the robust engagements you will have in the next two days.
18. Thank you for listening and may God bless you.

Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR, 

29/08/2024