By Abbas Nazil
Young climate advocates in Nigeria’s South East have been urged to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) to strengthen climate change adaptation, improve disaster early warning systems and attract funding for community-based environmental projects.
The call was made at the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) in Enugu, organised by the South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO), as participants explored ways to use technology to address environmental challenges and develop climate priorities ahead of the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Türkiye.
The conference brought together young people from rural and urban communities to examine how AI could support climate mitigation, adaptation, data analysis and the development of proposals capable of attracting financial and technical assistance.
Head of Programmes at SSDO, Udochukwu Egwim, said the initiative aimed to ensure that national climate policies reflect the needs and experiences of young people at the grassroots.
He explained that participants would develop community-specific climate action proposals, which would be combined with contributions from other geopolitical zones to establish a national youth climate agenda for presentation at national and international climate platforms.
According to Egwim, AI offers opportunities to analyse large volumes of environmental data, identify emerging patterns and predict potential disasters, including flooding, thereby helping communities improve preparedness and response.
However, he stressed that young people needed adequate training to use the technology effectively and responsibly.
Environmental expert Wilfred Okeke said the conference also focused on using AI to develop clear and compelling project proposals that meet the requirements of climate donors and funding organisations.
He noted that the technology could help young advocates explain environmental challenges, organise evidence and present practical interventions in formats suitable for funding applications.
Okeke, however, emphasised that AI should complement rather than replace fieldwork, noting that reliable information must first be collected directly from affected communities before being analysed and used to develop project proposals.
The Director of Climate Change at the Enugu State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Nnamdi Arum, urged participants to contribute actively to the implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0), which outline the country’s commitments to addressing climate change.
Arum encouraged young people to monitor environmental developments in their communities, particularly in agriculture, energy, transportation and land use, while gathering credible local data to support climate action.
He also highlighted the importance of documenting the transition from petrol and diesel generators to solar energy as part of efforts to understand changes in energy use and promote cleaner alternatives.
Youth climate activist Victoria Imaji said the training had improved participants’ understanding of how AI could simplify climate advocacy by helping them identify environmental problems, summarise policy documents and understand government commitments.
She explained that such knowledge could enable young people to demand accountability from relevant institutions and advocate evidence-based solutions to environmental challenges.
Imaji further called for greater attention to vulnerable populations, particularly farmers, older people and rural residents who face climate-related risks and often have limited access to resources for adaptation.
She urged young people from developing countries to use their participation in international climate conferences to communicate the experiences of affected communities and advocate interventions that address their needs.
The organisers said the Enugu conference formed part of a broader effort to gather youth climate priorities from Nigeria’s geopolitical zones and consolidate them into a national agenda for presentation at the global youth climate conference and COP.
The initiative seeks to strengthen youth participation in climate policymaking while promoting the use of technology, reliable data and locally driven solutions to address the growing environmental challenges facing communities across Nigeria.
