Rivers Assembly Moves To Domesticate Climate Change Act

The Rivers State House of Assembly has said that it will domesticate the Nigeria Climate Change Act 2021 to make it possible for the state to benefit from the Climate Change Fund.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Dumle Maol, disclosed this on Thursday in Port Harcourt while speaking at the presentation of a research report on ‘Loss and Damage’ in Ogoniland.

The report, which was based on a community-led research, was initiated and funded by the African Indigenous Foundation For Energy and Sustainable Development (AIFES).

Maol stated that a Climate Change Bill, which was co-sponsored by him and the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, had passed through the second reading in the House and has been committed to the committee for public hearing.

He said: “Before I present my address, I will like to inform us that I and the Speaker co-sponsored a Climate Change Bill. It passed second reading on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Today, it has been committed to the committee on public hearing.

“Last week, the Speaker and I, as well as members of the House Committee on Environment were at the COP 30 in Brazil.

“So, what we are trying to do today is to domesticate that Act so that Rivers State can benefit from the Climate Change Fund. There is huge amount of money lying fallow there on climate change.”

The deputy speaker commended AIFES for the report on ‘Loss and Damage’ as it relates to climate change in Ogoni land, saying: “What we are doing here today, to me is domesticating what they are doing in the world back to Ogoni people.”

In his welcome address, AIFES executive director, Legborsi Pyagbara, described ‘Loss and Damage’ as the impacts of climate change that cannot be adapted or mitigated.

Pyagbara: “‘Loss and damage’ if simply put, are those impacts of climate change cannot be adapted to or mitigated. One clear example is the situation of death; if somebody dies, can he be adapted? Can you adapt a dead person? Can you mitigate a dead person? The person is gone. That is one clear example of what happens when you have ‘loss and damage’.

“That death is a loss, it is a damage. It cannot be adapted and cannot be mitigated and they are caused by several factors.”