ECOWAS Leading The Green Revolution To Combat Climate Change
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
West Africa is one of the most climate vulnerable regions in the world.
From desertification in the Sahel to rising sea levels in coastal cities, millions of people are at risk of displacement, food insecurity, and economic loss.
It is against this backdrop that the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has pledged to tackle climate change, but is the region doing enough to safeguard its future?
Recent reports from the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) show the over 100 million people in West Africa are at risk due to desertification.
Lagos, Abidjan, and Dakar face severe flooding risks due to rising sea levels.
Agricultural production has dropped by up to 20% in some areas, threatening food security.
For this, ECOWAS has launched several climate adaptation and mitigation programmes, including:
The West African Solar Energy Initiative – aims to provide renewable energy access to 50 million people.
The ECOWAS Drought Resilience Plan – supports farmers with climate-smart agricultural techniques.
The West African Coastal Adaptation Programme works to protect communities from rising sea levels.
Despite these efforts, implementation has remained slow, with major challenges such as:
Limited funding for climate projects, weak enforcement of environmental policies, lack of awareness and community engagement.
Citizens of member states have also been lending their voices and contributing their quota to the fight on all fronts.
A climate educator and environmental sustainability expert, Temitope Okunnu, who is part of the Great Green Wall project, a pan-African initiative planting trees to combat desertification believes that the land was turning to dust, but now there is hope.
For a solutions journalist, Ajayi, provision of affordable solar panels to rural communities and access to clean energy is transforming lives, reducing reliance on wood and charcoal.
Oluwaseun Adeyemi, who leads a climate activism group in Lagos, working on mangrove restoration to protect coastal areas from erosion and flooding says his passion is driven by need for a clean environment.
Experts however believe that ECOWAS can do a lot more a climate expert Dr. Mamadou Touré suggests that ECOWAS must: increase investment in renewable energy projects, create stronger climate adaptation policies, enforce environmental laws across all member states.
Presently, West Africa is at a climate crossroads. Without urgent action, the region faces devastating environmental and economic consequences. Even though ECOWAS has taken steps, a lot still needs to be done to secure a sustainable future
