Environmental experts at a webinar have proposed a comprehensive environmental audits, health assessments for affected communities, transition to renewable energy, and increased community-led initiatives be put in place in order to address the crisis in the Niger Delta.
The one-day webinar which was organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), USA hub to examine pressing issues as they affect communities, especially in the Niger Delta, noted that Climate change disproportionately affected marginalized communities due to patterns of production of dirty energy and consumption patterns as well.
This was as discussion around energy, its costs, and stranded communities has alarming statistics, including decades of oil pollution contaminating the soil, water, and air of the Niger Delta.
Significantly, Environmental experts Nicholas Johnson and Nnimmo Bassey discussed the devastating consequences of fossil fuel dependency and climate change on stranded communities.
This critical conversation highlighted vital issues, including the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities, fossil fuel addiction, and the role of
neoliberalism in perpetuating the poly crisis.
In his remarks, Nicholas Johnson stressed that consumption patterns contribute to environmental degradation, stressing that solidarity with communities is essential for ecological justice.
Johnson further highlighted critical issues, including the intersection of climate change and human rights,
the environmental and social impact on communities, pollution cleanup, environmental study, challenges posed by multinational corporations, grassroots activism, and corporate accountability.
Speaking in turn, the Executive Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, emphasised that environmental degradation undermines human rights, particularly the right to life.
Bassey highlighted methods to combat climate change, which
include learning from communities affected by oil extraction and promoting participatory ecological impact assessments in
decision-making.
The Executive Director of HOMEF said that payment of climate debt was the right way to handle climate finance as it would address the origins of climate injustice.
HOMEF USA notes that the international community must prioritize solidarity with affected communities and support their environmental justice and human rights demands.
A statement by Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead of HOMEF, said that this critical conversation underscored the urgent need for environmental justice, human rights, and solidarity with stranded communities.
