Climate Change Is Now A Question Of Human Survival, Dignity – ECOWAS Parliament Speaker
By Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Climate change is no longer a distant environmental threat measured only in statistics and projections; its impact is already being felt by communities across West Africa, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, has said.
Ibrahima who stated this on Monday in Accra, Ghana, while opening the Second Parliamentary Seminar of 2026 of the ECOWAS Parliament, said the effects of climate disruption are increasingly visible in declining agricultural yields, retreating coastlines, flooded communities, loss of livelihoods and the displacement of families.
According to her, the central question confronting policymakers is how to protect the living conditions, dignity and security of citizens as environmental changes outpace communities’ capacity to adapt.
She urged parliamentarians to use the seminar to move beyond familiar climate discussions and examine the realities confronting communities across their territories.
Ibrahima also stressed the need to combine technical expertise with the lived experiences of parliamentarians, saying meaningful proposals could emerge from a dialogue between scientific knowledge and the realities faced by citizens.
The Speaker urged participants to focus on “substance, listening and work”, rather than ceremony, as the seminar gets underway in Accra.
