Parliamentarians critical to climate accountability in Africa, Onuigbo says – EnviroNews

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Nigerian climate advocate and parliamentarian, Sam Onuigbo, has stressed the importance of parliaments in translating climate commitments into enforceable laws, policies and budgetary actions, describing legislators as central to effective climate governance across Africa.

Onuigbo made the remarks during the 2026 African Network of Parliamentarians on Climate Change (ANPCC) Executive Committee meeting in Nairobi, where parliamentarians reflected on the role of legislative institutions in strengthening climate accountability, oversight and implementation across the continent.

According to Onuigbo, international climate agreements and commitments would have limited impact without legislative action to establish the legal and policy frameworks required for their implementation.

He referenced the saying, “Parliamentarians make COPs count,” explaining that commitments made at international climate conferences must be translated into national laws and policies that guide executive action.

“You can go ahead and do whatever you want to do, blow all the grammar and attend all the conferences. If the parliamentarians do not bring it down to laws and policies that the executive can rely upon, those high packages that have been discussed have little or no meaning or effect,” he said.

Onuigbo noted that parliamentarians play multiple roles in advancing climate action, including enacting legislation, approving budgets and conducting oversight to ensure that allocated funds are used judiciously.

He also argued that climate commitments cannot be effectively implemented without adequate financing and mechanisms to hold implementing agencies accountable.

“Parliamentarians are front and centre to achieving whatever we want to do in climate change,” he said, emphasising the importance of legislative oversight in ensuring that climate programmes deliver their intended outcomes.

Reflecting on his climate advocacy in Nigeria, Unuigbo said his participation in international climate discussions, including the process surrounding the Paris Agreement, reinforced his determination to push for stronger domestic climate action.

He also cited the environmental changes witnessed in his community, particularly the drying up of springs, as a reminder of the direct effects of climate change on local populations.

According to him, these experiences strengthened his resolve to pursue legislative measures that would provide an institutional framework for coordinating climate action in Nigeria.

Onuigbo pointed to Nigeria’s Climate Change Act and the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change under Section 3 of the Act as examples of how legislation can provide a coordinating structure for climate governance.

He explained that such legal frameworks create an institutional basis for implementing climate policies and coordinating efforts across relevant sectors and levels of government.

Speaking about the law, he suggested it illustrates why legislative action is essential to ensuring that climate commitments move beyond international declarations to practical implementation at the national level.

Onuigbo also underscored the importance of networks that bring parliamentarians together to share knowledge, strengthen collaboration and advance climate-related legislation.

He noted that parliamentary networks can help legislators prepare for emerging environmental challenges and develop laws that enable governments to fulfil their climate commitments.