The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) is collaborating to develop Nigeria’s Just Transitions Work Plan
This was made known by the Director General of NCCC Dr Nkiruka Nkiruka Maduekwe at a 2-day pre Cop 29 Validation meeting held at the Denis Hotel , Abuja
She applauded the Nigeria Labour Congress for being proactive about climate justice for workers, assuring the NLC of the continued support of the Council in ensuring that the voice of workers in Nigeria are adequately mainstreamed in Nigeria’s national policy documents on climate change and just transition. .
The NLC Climate Change Coordinator , Comrade Eche Asuzu while speaking on the import of the two days program said the workshop which is with the support of the International Labour Organisation is to validate NLC’s position on Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
He said some of the sectors represented at the meeting included the Petroleum, Power, Industry, Agriculture and Food, Transport, Aviation, Construction, Civil and Public Service Sectors.
“Sequel to the Validation Meeting, the ILO engaged a Consultant, Mr. Elijah Iklaga, to develop initial thoughts and conduct empirical research to enable discussions on the Position of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution.
T”he consultancy’s terms of reference was designed two major deliverables. The first was the drafting of the NLC Position Paper on Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions. The second was to design an Implementation Action Plan for the advancement of the positions identified and established in the Position Paper.
“Also in the build up to the Validation Meeting, the NLC Climate Change Network set up a review team comprising of selected focal persons especially those identified in Nigeria’s NDC as the priority sectors. Also in the team were experts and policy practitioners on climate change and just transition from across the globe including Professor Attiya Waris (University of Nairobi/UN Expert on Climate Finance), Professor Salamatu Fada (University of Jos), Brother Bert De Wel (ITUC-Brussels), Sister Rhoda Boateng (ITUC Africa), Sister Boitumelo Molete (COSATU), Brother Aubert Ouango (FNV Holland) and Brother Yesseh Sullo (Ghana TUC).
“The Consultant held two virtual meetings with Review Team. The first meeting which took place on 25th September 2024 involved both the focal persons and the experts. The meeting discussed the Inception Report developed by the Consultant and raised expectations for the research work. The methodology to the research was also discussed and suggestions made on how best to align the methodology with the deliverables.
“The second virtual meeting which discussed the first draft Position Paper developed by the Consultant involved only focal persons on the NLC Climate Change Network. The amendments and suggestions made at the meeting informed further work by the Consultant which translated to a better refined Draft Position Paper for Validation”.
The ILO ACTRAV Specialist, Sister Inviolata Chinyangarara in her remarks described the quest for workers’ voice in the development of key climate change national instruments as crucial for inclusivity and authenticity of Nigeria’s aspirations to develop a green economy that leaves no one behind.
According to her, workers’ voice is very important given that the issues of climate change revolves around the workplace and requires social partnership for the needed progress.
In his goodwill message, the Global Coordinator of the Climate Change Program of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Brother Bert De Wel, applauded the Nigeria Labour Congress for blazing the trail on trade union advocacy for climate justice for workers through a just transition.
He reminded participants at the meeting that a lot of work still needs to be done to raise awareness among the workforce on the imperatives for climate justice for workers especially given the focus on climate finance at this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP 29) in Baku Azerbaijan. He called for sustained working class solidarity for progress.
The highlight of the Validation Meeting was the presentation of the Draft Position Paper by the Consultant, Mr. Elijah Iklaga. The draft Paper spoke elaborately to the two major deliverables with an empirical research result as a basis for deductions and recommendations made in the Policy Paper.
Dr. Peter Tarfa, a pioneer Director of the Climate Change Unit in the Federal Ministry of Environment and a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment was also on hand to make a presentation on what should be the way forward for workers in Nigeria to achieve climate justice within the broader ambience in Nigeria’s NDC.
The epoch of the Validation Meeting was the Group Work that saw participants grouped according to the NDC Priority Sectors.
Each group was tasked with the job of identifying gaps in their sector and coming up with recommendations. The gaps and recommendations identified and discussed during the group work and the ensuing plenary were noted by the Consultant for further mainstreaming into the draft that would be presented at the NLC Side Events at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The meeting also agreed that the eventual draft following engagement with a wider global audience at COP 29 would be submitted to the leadership of the NLC for consideration, adoption and use as a reference material and baseline document for climate change advocacy by the working class in Nigeria and elsewhere.
END.
