ECOWAS Parliament Declares ‘War’ on Climate Change, Demands Urgent Regional Action
The ECOWAS Parliament has declared a renewed regional push against climate change, calling for urgent and coordinated action to confront the worsening environmental, humanitarian and security threats facing communities across West Africa.
The call came at the close of the Second 2026 Parliamentary Seminar in Accra, which brought together parliamentarians and stakeholders to deliberate on the growing links between climate change, environmental degradation, population displacement and insecurity in the ECOWAS region.
Held under the theme, “Climate Change as a Driver of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Growing Insecurity in the ECOWAS Region,” the three-day seminar examined the far-reaching consequences of climate change on livelihoods, food security, human settlements, development and regional stability.
The final day featured a documentary showcasing the devastating effects of climate change across different sectors, followed by country reports from Côte d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Togo and Nigeria.
The country presentations offered national perspectives on climate-related challenges and ongoing responses, providing participants with practical insights into the need for stronger regional collaboration in tackling environmental and climate threats.
In her closing remarks, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, H.E. Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, warned that the region could no longer afford to treat climate change as a distant or secondary threat.
She pointed to intensifying droughts and floods, receding coastlines and the disproportionate burden being borne by vulnerable communities, stressing that the consequences were increasingly affecting the lives and livelihoods of people across West Africa.
According to her, the experiences shared by Member States during the seminar demonstrated that with political will, innovation and stronger regional cooperation, the climate crisis could also become an opportunity to accelerate sustainable development.
“The time has come for action,” H.E. Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima declared, urging parliamentarians to translate the outcomes of the seminar into concrete measures in their respective countries.
A major recommendation from the deliberations was the establishment of a Regional Climate Resilience Fund to strengthen Member States’ capacity to prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters and other emerging threats.
Participants also stressed the need to strengthen early-warning systems, promote agroforestry and accelerate investment in renewable energy as part of efforts to build more resilient communities and economies.
The ECOWAS Parliament further called for climate policies to be inclusive and for vulnerable populations and communities most exposed to climate impacts to have equitable access to climate finance.
The Speaker also urged stronger parliamentary oversight of the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other regional climate commitments, stressing that national and regional climate pledges must translate into measurable action on the ground.
She encouraged Members of Parliament to take the lessons and recommendations from the Accra seminar back to their respective Member States and advocate for their implementation.
H.E. Ibrahima reaffirmed the commitment of the ECOWAS Parliament to regional integration, climate resilience and collective security, emphasising that sustained cooperation among Member States would be critical to building a peaceful, resilient and prosperous West Africa.
She assured participants that the conclusions and recommendations of the seminar would be transmitted to the relevant authorities and subjected to rigorous follow-up.
The Speaker subsequently formally declared the Second 2026 Parliamentary Seminar closed, with the outcome expected to provide further impetus for regional efforts to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, population displacement and insecurity.
The seminar also reinforced the aspirations of ECOWAS Vision 2050, which seeks to promote a peaceful, prosperous and integrated West Africa capable of responding collectively to emerging regional challenges.
Source: Felix Nyaaba / expressnewsghana.com
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