By Abbas Nazil
Youths in Nigeria’s South-East region have called for greater involvement in shaping and implementing climate change policies, urging government to create platforms that prioritize youth inclusion in environmental decision-making.
The demand was made during the South-East Regional Local Conference of Youth (LCOY Nigeria 2025), organized by the South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) at Hotel Sylvia in Enugu.
Over 100 young participants from the five South-East states gathered to discuss ways to ensure youth participation in climate governance.
With the theme “Youth at the Forefront of Climate Justice: Accelerating Action for a Just Transition,” the conference underscored that climate change disproportionately affects young people, who remain central to national development and future resilience.
Participants appealed to all tiers of government to establish youth advisory boards that would enable them to contribute meaningfully to policy design and implementation, ensuring that their voices are represented in decision-making spaces.
According to the Head of Programs at SSDO, Udochukwu Enwerem, the regional gathering was aimed at identifying climate challenges facing youths in the South-East and consolidating inputs for both national and global policy dialogues ahead of the upcoming global conference in Brazil.
Friday Ogazi, ActionAid International’s Climate Justice Advisor for West Africa, emphasized that youths are often first responders to climate impacts in their communities and should therefore be central to the fight for climate justice.
He added that climate change already threatens key sectors such as agriculture, transport, and rural livelihoods, stressing the need for governments to mobilize local resources for an inclusive and sustainable response.
In his remarks, Nnamdi Arum, Deputy Director at the Enugu State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, said the state has established committees and frameworks to strengthen climate policy implementation, reaffirming Governor Peter Mbah’s commitment to proactive environmental governance.