By Abbas Nazil
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on has flagged off the ‘Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour’ aimed at mobilising citizens, states and investors toward climate action and green economic growth.
The President who performed the flag off on Tuesday at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the initiative goes beyond a ceremonial launch as “it is a national movement”.
He said the remarkable initiative represents a nationwide call to responsibility, innovation and opportunity, will position Nigeria to lead Africa in climate resilience and low-carbon development.
Enumerating the impacts of climate change, President Tinubu stressed that climate change is already affecting farmers battling desertification in the North, coastal communities facing erosion and flooding in the South, businesses grappling with rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions, and young Nigerians whose futures depend on present policy choices.
Represented by the Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abba Lawal, President Tinubu who described climate action as a strategic opportunity, noted that global capital, technology and markets are shifting toward low-carbon development and that Nigeria intends to compete and lead in that transition.
The RHCCAT, he explained, will take climate awareness beyond conference halls into communities across the six geopolitical zones, engaging governors, traditional rulers, students, entrepreneurs, farmers, financial institutions and development partners to unlock bankable projects and mobilise climate finance at scale.
The President said Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement are firm commitments to cut emissions and build resilience, adding that such commitments must be backed by investment, partnerships and measurable action.
Declaring the Tour officially launched, the President said Nigeria has chosen leadership over hesitation and innovation over stagnation, vowing to transform climate awareness into action, action into investment and investment into a stronger, greener and more resilient nation.
Earlier in his own address, Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal said the Tour aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and builds on the legal and institutional frameworks already established to tackle climate change.
He referenced the Climate Change Act 2021 as a landmark law that created a framework for coordinated climate governance, carbon budgeting and Nigeria’s pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060, while institutionalising climate action across sectors.
Malam Lawal disclosed that the Ministry has worked with states to appoint subnational directors of climate change, establish climate desks across ministries, departments and agencies, and conduct technical capacity building on greenhouse gas inventories, adaptation planning, green budgeting and access to climate finance.
He added that the government has introduced an annual Subnational Climate Governance Performance Ranking to assess states on policy implementation, mitigation, adaptation, awareness and green investments, encouraging accountability and healthy competition.
The Minister also highlighted youth-focused initiatives including the Eco-School Initiative, Youth Climate Innovation Hub and Uni-Go-Green programme, designed to mainstream environmental education, promote tree planting and recycling, and equip young Nigerians with skills in renewable energy, climate technology and green entrepreneurship.
Malam Lawal called on state governments, the private sector, civil society, development partners and young people to take ownership of the movement, emphasising that climate resilience is tied to economic growth, food security and national security.
