By Barbara Nwaiwu
The Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Barrister Chima Williams, has urged tertiary institutions to move beyond academic discussions on climate change by fostering partnerships, encouraging innovation and supporting practical solutions to environmental challenges.
Williams, the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize winner for Africa, made the call during the 2026 International Multidisciplinary Hybrid Conference on Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability: Global Perspectives and Local Issues, held at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike (FUNAI), Ebonyi State on Wednesday, where he served as the special guest and keynote speaker.
The conference, which Williams described as part of his “home coming,” featured several activities, including the donation of exotic fruit species and ornamental trees to the university on behalf of EDEN and Chima Williams & Associates, where he is the principal.
Delivering the keynote address, Williams said climate change had evolved from being a scientific prediction to a reality affecting communities across the world through rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, heat waves, flooding, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, desertification and growing threats to food security and public health.
He said the worsening impacts of climate change demonstrate that environmental sustainability is not only an environmental issue but also one of justice, development, human rights, peace and survival.
Williams noted that although the international community had established frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise while developing countries bear the greatest impacts of climate change.
“Across our country, communities face severe environmental degradation from oil pollution, gas flaring, deforestation, erosion, flooding, desertification, and the growing impacts of climate variability.”
“The Niger Delta remains one of the most environmentally impacted regions in the world, while northern Nigeria continues to confront desert encroachment and water scarcity.”
“Coastal communities face increasing threats from erosion and rising sea levels, while urban centres struggle with flooding caused by poor planning and inadequate waste management. Examples abound!”
He said the climate crisis also presents an opportunity to rethink development models, transform energy systems, promote circular economies, restore degraded ecosystems and build more resilient and sustainable societies.
According to Williams, the decisions taken today will determine the environmental legacy left for future generations, urging participants to continue engaging across disciplines, challenge existing assumptions and promote innovative ideas beyond the conference.
He stressed that environmental justice extends beyond protecting ecosystems to safeguarding humanity.
As part of efforts to encourage environmental stewardship among students, Williams appealed to the university management to support the establishment of a branch of the Students Environmental Assembly Nigeria (SEAN) at FUNAI.
He also pledged to institute two environmental sustainability awards through the association: the Vice Chancellor’s Award for the Cleanest Faculty, with a cash prize of N200,000, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts Award for the Cleanest Hostel, with a prize of N100,000.
According to him, the awards are intended to encourage students’ active participation in maintaining a sustainable campus environment while complementing other environmental initiatives supported by civil society organisations in Ebonyi State.
Ahead of the conference, the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Environment, Chief Sylvester Nwenugwu Nwite, led Williams, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Arua Oko, leaders of civil society organisations, professors and other university officials in a tree planting exercise as part of climate resilience practices.
