COP28: CSOs Demands Action on Climate Change, Begins Hunger Strike 

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have begun hunger strike in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital to press home for action on climate change especially as policy makers and governments gather in United Arab Emirates, for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The civil society groups yesterday, expressed their position with a peaceful protest along the ever-busy Kaduna Street D/Line by CFC flyover with banners and placards bearing different inscriptions such as “We demand action for cleaner environment”, “FG create more awareness on climate change”, “Climate Issues: we want action, we want change”, “Climate Change: not taking action is a big risk,” among others.

Speaking, the Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, Mr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said the hunger strike was imperative in order to draw the attention of the government and world leaders on the need to take the issue of climate change seriously and proffer solution to some of the effects of the climate crisis.

 “Today in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria, we are hunger striking. We’ve decided to go without food to call our leaders to take action concerning climate change as they gather in Dubai for the Conference of Parties (COP28).

“Climate change is affecting people generally, it’s affecting people in Nigeria, it’s affecting people in and around the world and the impact of climate change is very heavy on the people and we ate trying to say that our leaders should take action to give us a safer health.

“They should take action to address the issue of climate change. We need a systemic change they will address climate change, we need a comprehensive implement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, we need a stop to gas flaring that is contributing to climate change, we need a safer environment because the impact of climate change is affecting the people and affecting the environment.

“So we cannot continue like this. The earth that we live and this world we are living is a heritage and we don’t have to destroy the earth in the process of making money.”