Stakeholders in Nigeria’s low-carbon transition have called on labour unions to take a leading role in shaping Nigeria’s transition from a fossil fuel-dependent economy to a low-carbon future.
They made the call on Friday at a dialogue organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nigeria in Lagos with the theme, ‘Nigeria’s Low Carbon Future and the World of Work.’
The dialogue brought together young workers, labour representatives, non-governmental organisations, climate advocates and media practitioners to examine the implications of the transition for jobs, skills and livelihoods.
The stakeholders said while the shift to a green economy could create employment opportunities in renewable energy and other green industries, workers in carbon-intensive sectors could face significant disruptions.
They therefore called for worker-centred climate policies, decent employment, stronger social protection and inclusive governance to ensure that workers and vulnerable communities were not excluded from the transition.
Speaking at the event, the founder of the International Climate and Development Initiative, Olumide Idowu, said the transition required individuals and institutions to take responsibility for their roles in protecting the environment.
Idowu said the dialogue had also provided a better understanding of the role of labour unions beyond their traditional perception as organisations that mobilise workers for protests.
He said, “It’s not only by talking about labour, but as individuals, we need to take responsibility because what we are clamouring for is about how do we ourselves take responsibility from our own environment.”
Idowu said Nigeria needed to consider the economic realities facing citizens before promoting solutions such as solar energy.
He said, “People are telling us that we should move to solar energy, all those things. How many of us can afford it? So if we actually want to walk, labour unions have a lot of role to play.”
Also speaking, the Executive Director of We the People, Ken Henshaw, said Nigeria was not adequately prepared to benefit from the low-carbon economy.
Henshaw said the country lacked the policies and technology required to effectively drive the transition, despite possessing some of the critical minerals needed for the emerging green economy.
He said, “Nigeria, as presently constituted, is not ready for the low-carbon future. We do not have the policies for it, we do not have the technology for it. So, if the low-carbon regime were to start right now, Nigeria will not benefit reasonably from it.
“And this is despite the fact that Nigeria has some of the most critical minerals required for the local future. We have those minerals, we have everything to make the low-carbon future and decent future, but we are simply not prepared for it.”
Henshaw also criticised the country’s continued dependence on extractive economic practices, arguing that the same system that shaped the oil economy was influencing discussions around the low-carbon transition.
He urged labour unions to move beyond reacting to transition policies and become active participants in designing them.
“Labour should not just be a recipient of transition theories. Labour should be a director of this transition policies. And I think that this kind of conversation is the kind that we need,” he said.
A representative of Public Services International, Dr Abiodun Badru, in a presentation titled, ‘Nigeria’s Low Carbon Transition and the Future of Work,’ highlighted opportunities in the green economy and the need to prepare workers for emerging jobs.
Badru advocated the development of green skills among workers and stronger social protection for both formal and informal workers.
An environmental advocate, Gbenga Oloniniran, also called for an inclusive transition that would take into account the needs of vulnerable communities.
Oloniniran said millions of Nigerians still depended on firewood, kerosene and charcoal for cooking and should not be left out of policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
He said, “Nigeria’s low-carbon future must carry along everyone, irrespective of their sociological background.”
Oloniniran also called for policies addressing the plight of communities affected by oil spills and flooding, as well as the creation of environmentally friendly jobs for persons with disabilities.
The event also featured a panel discussion on ‘Building a Worker-Centred Low Carbon Future for Nigeria,’ with Idowu, Hauwa Mustapha of Tubali Women and CoSET, Kelvin Ayemhenre and Almahroof Muhammed as panellists.
