By Gabriel Ewepu

Climate justice advocates from West Africa Including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali, Wednesday, pushed for powerful and united climate justice movement to confront the escalating impacts of climate change.

The movement is to holistically and unitedly demand for greater accountability from industrialised nations who are responsible for the bulk of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The stakeholders, drawn from civil society organisations, research institutions and grassroots movements across the seven countries, made the call during a regional dialogue tagged ‘Challenging Narratives and Building a United Front for Climate Justice in West Africa’.

They stressed that a coordinated regional approach is critical to protecting vulnerable communities and advancing Africa’s interests in global climate negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, said solidarity must remain the foundation of the climate justice movement, arguing that no country in the region can effectively confront the climate crisis in isolation.

According to Bassey, West Africa is increasingly facing devastating climate impacts, including sea-level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, biodiversity loss and climate-induced displacement, all of which threaten livelihoods, food security and economic stability.

He challenged what he described as “false solutions” to climate change, including carbon offset schemes, geoengineering projects and large-scale land acquisitions for carbon markets, saying such initiatives often transfer the burden of climate action to vulnerable communities while allowing major polluters to continue emitting greenhouse gases.

He also cautioned against unchecked extraction of critical minerals under the global energy transition, insisting that the shift to cleaner energy must not create new forms of environmental injustice or resource exploitation across Africa.

Calling for stronger regional collaboration, he urged governments, civil society organisations, indigenous communities, farmers, fishers, labour unions and youth groups across West Africa to build a coordinated movement capable of influencing climate policies and defending the rights of affected communities.

He further urged African leaders to demand climate debt and historical accountability from industrialised nations rather than relying solely on climate finance, maintaining that countries least responsible for global emissions should not bear the greatest consequences of the climate crisis.

Also speaking, climate scientist, Prof Youba Sokona, said African communities continue to suffer disproportionately from climate change despite contributing only a small fraction of global carbon emissions.

He argued that the climate crisis cannot be separated from Africa’s history of colonial exploitation and resource extraction, noting that traditional African societies managed land, forests and water as shared resources held in trust for present and future generations.

Sokona called on West African countries to build a strong political coalition that places justice, equity and community rights at the centre of climate action while challenging policies that continue to prioritise corporate profits over environmental sustainability.

Participants also agreed that a united regional movement would strengthen West Africa’s voice in international climate negotiations and support locally driven solutions capable of protecting ecosystems, improving resilience and promoting sustainable development across the sub-region.