Oriola Odutoye

Climate change in the past few decades has caused the Lake Chad Basin in North Eastern Nigeria to shrink. It has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s and has caused a downturn in the fortunes of the 30 million people who depend on it in Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad, and Niger. In the 1960s, it occupied an area of over 26,000 Square Kilometers, but in 2020, it was just over 1,320 Square Kilometers. One of the ripple effects of this is that it has caused cattle herders to increasingly drive south into Nigeria’s central farmland. The decades long battle over land between the herdsmen from the Fulani people and farmers in the central region known as the Middle Belt has thus rapidly increased. The root of the conflict lies in the forced southern migration, owing to the drought, (of which the shrinkage of the lake chad due to climate change is a primary reason). The constant battle for scare water and agricultural resource around the basin has also created another opportunity for militant groups ar

  COP 26 recently ended. It was one of the last major efforts the world is making to collectively achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050. While the conference underwhelmed and failed to live up to expectations, due to the action (or inaction) of some major impact countries, a lot of significant resolutions and commitments were still made. Of particular importance to me is Climate Finance, and how the Developed World can aid Developing Nations in Climate Adaption and Transition Technologies. Here are some resolutions agreed at COP 26 on Climate Finance and delivery: 1. Increasing the scale of climate finance : Developed countries remain fully committed to the goal of jointly mobilizing US$100 billion per year as soon as possible and through to 2025. In order to increase the scale of climate finance and meet the US$100 billion goal, developed countries will continue to steadily scale up climate finance by fulfilling their pledges. Those who have not yet made a pledge should follow suit an