ECOWAS must move beyond climate talk to concrete action – Sierra Leone Minority Leader

Sierra Leone’s Minority Leader has called on ECOWAS to shift from merely discussing climate issues to taking tangible actions to safeguard communities from floods, mudslides and environmental decline. He maintained that West African nations must convert their climate pledges into enforceable laws and practical initiatives that can be carried out across all member states.

"Our actions shouldn't be confined to conferences or mere talk," he asserted during a meeting with JoyNews’ Stephen Mensah at the Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra. The legislator advocated for unified regional statutes that member states could adopt and enforce nationally, especially concerning forest preservation and actions that exacerbate environmental harm.

Overgrazing, deforestation and the destruction of forest reserves, according to him, are intensifying the impact of climate-related events like floods. "If forests were not depleted, the impact of climate change would be minimal," he argued. He urged ECOWAS to enhance regional collaboration to tackle activities that contribute to the degradation of natural ecosystems.

He argued that safeguarding forests should be a cornerstone of a broader regional climate strategy because environmental damage in one country can have repercussions beyond its borders. Therefore, he called for member states to convert regional accords into domestic laws and enforcement systems that can yield quantifiable outcomes.

His plea also pertains to disaster preparedness, with the legislator emphasizing the need for stronger systems that allow countries to respond swiftly to floods, mudslides and other climate-related emergencies. He suggested governments should invest in readiness prior to disasters striking rather than scrambling for resources after communities have already suffered losses.

The recommendation emerges in the context of debates within the ECOWAS Parliament on the region's response to climate change and environmental issues. At the parliamentary symposium, Speaker Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima encouraged lawmakers to look beyond climate statistics and consider the human implications of environmental disruption.

The discussions centered on the necessity for stronger environmental legislation, climate financing, early warning systems, and measures to enhance resilience across West African countries. The Sierra Leonean legislator insisted that the subsequent phase should be to translate such deliberations into laws, financing commitments, and programs whose execution can be assessed.

He stressed that the ultimate evaluation of regional climate action should be based on its effectiveness in shielding lives, livelihoods, and communities from the escalating risks linked to environmental deterioration and climate-related catastrophes.