To this end, a four-Day training workshop began in Abuja, Nigeria on the 8th of December, 2020 to promote, among others, the sustainable management of resources for improving the regional economy while respecting the environment.

Besides supporting Nigeria through the training of a pool of experts on climate change projects development, the Workshop also aims to facilitate the implementation of the initial activities of the regional climate change adaptation programme.

At the opening of the Workshop, the ECOWAS’ Commission’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Sekou Sangare who spoke through the Director, environment and Natural Resources Dr. Johnson Boanuh, restated the importance of the training in assisting national experts to develop climate projects and access Green Climate Funds (GCF).

According to him, the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 marked an important turning point in the process of combating climate change. He however admitted the existence of challenges in accessing several funds.

He said it was in order to assist countries to overcome the challenges, that the ECOWAS Commission “initiated in 2015, several capacity building programs for Designated National Authorities on procedures for accessing said funds, in particular the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund”.

He noted further that with the coming on board of a new approach, the workshop will make it possible for the ECOWAS’ Member States to have a pool of experts who can support the Designated National Authorities in the coordination of projects and programs development, with the various development actors aimed at mobilizing resources from existing climate funds.

He expressed gratitude to the Swedish Cooperation and the European Union for their provision of financial and technical support in the conduct of the training in the ECOWAS countries.
The goodwill message of the Nigerian ministry of Environment was given by the representative of the Director, Department of Climate Change Mrs. Benny Ejiofor who noted among others, that the entire globe was at a defining moment in its history.

From changing weather patterns that threaten food security, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, she emphasized that the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale, such that “if drastic and decisive actions are not taken now, coping with these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly”

An overview of the Workshop’s goals was given by the project coordinator at the ECOWAS Commission’s climate change Directorate Mr. Konan Raoul Kouame. Participants were urged to carefully follow the modules and help to boost the efforts already made by Nigeria in accessing the resources of the Green Climate Fund in particular.