By Obiabin Onukwugha
Women in frontline communities have cried out that climate change impacts exercabated by oil extraction, were destroying their livelihoods. They stated that impacts from oil pollution, gas flaring and monster floodings have increased suffering for them.
The women, united in one voice spoke at the opening session of a three-day Women Climate Assembly, organised by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday
The objective of the Assembly, which had its theme: “Promotin Women’s Critical Role in Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives, is to strengthen and unify women-led struggle against destructive extraction activities and false solutions to the climate crisis.
The Assembly is coming at the COP30 scheduled to hold in Belem, Brazil draws close. The women drawn from all the states of the Niger Delta, Benue State in the North East, and Brazil, told stories of impacts of oil extractivism and climate change on their communities and livelihoods, especially women and children.
Delivering the Keynote Address, Prof. Engono Emeseh, mentioned that research shows that women are relatively much more impacted by climate change than the other gender.
Emeseh, who is a Prof of Environment & Energy Law and Head of Law & Criminology, at the Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom, stated that climate change impacts is a global problem and women have to be at the forefront of advocating how they want to respond to climate change, and what support they need,
“Women have been at the forefront of initiatives to address climate change. And that’s not just looking at the Niger Delta or Nigeria, it’s looking at it globally. So we talked about people like Wangari Matai, Greta Thunberg, Christina Figueres, all of whom have been people who have been very much at the forefront of this issue,” she said.
She emphasised that stakeholders, including oil companies, governments and civil society have to be at the forefront of policy formulation that addresses the impacts of climate change.
“Companies have to be involved in supporting them, civil society has to be involved in supporting them. Also policies that promote the ways in which women can be proactive in addressing climate challenges. Policies that will ensure that there’s a technology response to support women. Policies that will enable them to implement all the things that they already do at the grassroots level.
“But importantly, government also has to be involved in addressing the causes of climate change that impact on women,” she said.
She added that “It’s a crime that we are where we are in 2025 with the level of pollution that we have in the Niger Delta. And that as a government we have been unable to address that.”
In her address, Dr. Emem Okon, Executive Director, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, revealed that the Women Climate Assembly is part of the events held during the Counter COP that create space for community members and other persons who cannot attend the United Nations COP to share their stories and experiences.
“We are dealing with climate change. The weather patterns have changed over the years, and these changes have created situations that are not very pleasant for us as community members. The rains have become heavier. The floodings have become more regular. It has become an annual incident. And when flooding happens, people are displaced because their houses are flooded, their farmlands are flooded, their properties are destroyed by flood. In fact, flood causes a lot of discomfort. At times, people die.
“It was mentioned here that two children died this week in Port Harcourt. So, people die. The water will carry people. 2022 flooding in Rivers State, the East-West Road was destroyed. Till now, they’ve not fixed it. A lot of things are happening. 2022 in Bayelsa State, reports were that even corpses in mortuaries were swimming on top of the floodwaters. People struggle to survive flooding. And also, we have intense heat.
“All of us struggle with heat. And as often times, fan blows hot air, and no longer cool air. And we are also suffering from deforestation. The weather patterns have changed, and drastic actions need to be taken to arrest the situation. In the riverine communities, they suffer from sea level rise. People’s houses are destroyed,” she said.
Okon also stated that frontline communities have continued to suffer the impacts of extractivism. “The worst thing is that we are frontline to the extractive activities going on in the Niger Delta. We have been having gas flaring for the past seven decades. It destroys the roof. It makes us have acid rain and makes rainwater not safe for drinking. The roofs corrode. A lot of people are having respiratory problems. Women are experiencing infertility issues. So all these things are part of the changes in our environment, the changes that have become destructive, and people do not have alternatives.
“When something happens to the men, our husbands, our sons, our fathers, it is women that bear the brunt because we have to take care of them. If there are no resources to take care of them, we struggle to look for the resources.
“So that’s why we gather for the Climate Assembly to share experiences, discuss with each other how do we cope, how are we coping? What should we do to get the people in authority to listen to us and take the required actions to address the problems?”
Okon added that policies and actions geared towards solving climate change impacts must be all-inclusive. “Another demand is that whatever they do at the national level, at the international level, women should be part of the process because they need to hear from us, how we are impacted for them to know the kind of solutions that will work for us, particularly those in rural communities,” she stated.
Carolina de Moura, a Brazilian national and member of Instituto Cordilheira, stated that the experience in her country is the same with that of the Niger Delta communities of Nigeria. “We face a lot of problems with extractivist companies, like mining of iron ore. And nowadays, the mining companies are saying that we need to do more mining plants of critical minerals for energy transition. But we already know this energy transition is imposed by the global north of the world.
“It’s a proposal that will continue exploiting our people. It’s a new way of colonialism with a very strong patriarchy and racism. So, we are talking that this energy transition is not going to solve the problem.
And we are very worried about this mining, the companies mining, putting ourselves like who will save the planet. Because we know this will definitely not happen.
“We are already facing problems with these critical minerals like lithium and other ones. So, we are in a campaign against this energy transition, confronting COP30, the Climate Assembly of the United Nations that will happen there in November. And we are denouncing. And in this work, we are together also planting hope. Because when we spread our voice, we build solidarity and plant hope,” she stated.
