By Adebayo Obajemu
Climate justice campaigners from across West Africa have called for stronger regional cooperation to resist what they describe as “green colonialism,” warning that carbon markets, critical mineral extraction and other market-driven climate initiatives could worsen inequality and environmental degradation across the continent.
The call was made at the West Africa Climate Justice Movement Convening, organised in Abuja by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) under the theme, “Building Solidarity for Climate Justice in West Africa.” The meeting brought together delegates from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Participants urged governments, development partners and the international community to place human rights, environmental justice and community participation at the centre of climate policies.
Delivering the keynote address, climate scientist Prof. Youba Sokona argued that the global climate crisis is the outcome of decades of political and economic decisions that prioritised profit over environmental sustainability.
“The climate crisis is not an accident. It is not bad luck. It is not an act of God. It is the pre-known, pre-warned and deliberately tolerated consequence of a system that chose profit over people, extraction over stewardship and accumulation over survival,” he said.
Sokona rejected suggestions that responsibility for climate change is evenly shared, maintaining that countries with the highest historical emissions bear greater responsibility for addressing the crisis.
He noted that although West African countries contribute only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, they are among the regions most vulnerable to rising temperatures, flooding, desertification, drought, food insecurity and sea-level rise.
The climate expert also linked today’s environmental challenges to the legacy of colonialism, arguing that colonial rule transformed land and natural resources into commodities for exploitation.
“The climate crisis is, in part, the ecological bill for colonialism. We did not incur that debt, but we are being asked to pay it,” he said.
Sokona criticised carbon trading and offset schemes, describing them as mechanisms that enable major polluters to continue emitting greenhouse gases while restricting African communities’ access to their own land.
“This is not climate action. This is moral outsourcing,” he said, adding that “carbon colonialism is not a metaphor.”
He further warned that the growing global demand for critical minerals needed for renewable energy technologies could expose Africa to a new cycle of resource exploitation if adequate safeguards are not put in place.
According to him, a genuine energy transition should promote local ownership, domestic manufacturing and industrialisation rather than replicate extractive economic models.
In his welcome address, Executive Director of HOMEF, Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, said regional solidarity was essential to advancing climate justice across West Africa.
He observed that communities across the region are already experiencing the effects of climate change through flooding, coastal erosion, drought and displacement.
Bassey argued that people forced to leave their homes because of climate-related disasters should not be described as adapting to climate change.
He also criticised carbon markets, geoengineering and other market-based climate interventions, saying they often benefit investors while failing to address the needs of vulnerable communities.
Representatives from participating countries highlighted the environmental challenges facing their nations during a panel discussion.
Esther Kandeh of Sierra Leone said decades of diamond mining had left widespread environmental degradation despite generating significant mineral wealth.
Ghana’s Noble Wadzah attributed worsening floods and pollution of rivers to illegal and indiscriminate mining activities.
Kwami Kpondzo of Togo identified drought, flooding and coastal erosion as major environmental threats, while Nigeria’s Tijah Bolton Akpan warned that the country’s increasing focus on critical minerals was not being matched by adequate safeguards for human rights, labour rights and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent for host communities.
Guinea’s Sia Anne Marie said prolonged dry seasons, flooding, coastal erosion and deforestation had affected more than 130,000 people since 2023, while artisanal mining continued to expose women and children to environmental and health risks.
Ali Tapsoba of Burkina Faso said insecurity and deforestation had displaced many communities, adding that agroecology and large-scale tree planting were being promoted as part of efforts to restore degraded ecosystems.
From Mali, Issa Gundo highlighted the environmental impact of gold and lithium mining, noting that mining activities had polluted water sources amid persistent insecurity.
The conference concluded with the adoption of a communiqué establishing the West African Climate Justice Movement as a permanent regional platform to coordinate advocacy, promote community-led climate action and strengthen collaboration among civil society organisations.
Participants called for rights-based climate governance, increased grant-based climate finance, greater protection for environmental defenders, expanded technology transfer and stronger community ownership of renewable energy projects.
They also urged governments to reject what they described as “false climate solutions,” including harmful carbon market mechanisms, while promoting agroecology, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and sustained regional cooperation through ECOWAS, the African Union and other Global South partnerships.