Stephen Enoch
The Honourable Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change in Kano State, Dr. Dahir Mohammed Hashim, has said that the newly launched Kano State Climate Change Policy will serve as a vital roadmap for addressing environmental challenges and guiding the state’s contribution to global climate solutions.
He made this known on Thursday at a one-day high-level sensitization session on the Kano State Climate Change Policy, organized by the Kano State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in collaboration with the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Change (PACE).
The event, which took place at the Porto Golf Hotel, Bompai, Kano, served as a platform to conduct a targeted sensitization session to ensure alignment, a shared understanding of the policy and its goal, and the roles expected from all stakeholders.
Dr. Hashim emphasized that while climate change is a global crisis, the solutions must be localized, and that every state in Nigeria must have a policy document to play its part in the country’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) as mandated by the United Nations.
According to him, “This policy is not just important to Kano, but to global interventions in climate change. States can’t participate meaningfully without a guiding document.”
He noted that the policy was developed in a participatory manner, with input from at least eight key ministries including Health, Commerce, Transportation, and Industry, in order to ensure an inclusive and community-driven approach.
“Our intention is to make this policy not just government-owned, but people-owned. The policy will foster an enabling environment that aligns Kano with global best practices.
“Climate change is already taking a toll on health in the form of respiratory diseases, rising temperatures, low air quality, and mental health consequences from disasters like flooding and drought.
“In addition to the policy, the state is also reviewing existing environmental bylaws and creating a detailed roadmap for implementation.
“We want this to be sustainable, youth-driven, and innovative.
“We’re not only thinking about now, we’re thinking long-term,” he added.
Dr. Hashim affirmed the state’s commitment to collaboration, stressing that climate action requires collective effort.
