Covenant University has emerged as the Climate Champion at the 16th Conference of Youth (COY 16) in the educational institution category, which is the official United Nations Youth precursor event to the 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26).
The feat came from the project directed at making bold climate demands with a view to influencing the COP 26 negotiations and setting the global climate agenda for the coming years.
Climate demands were based on the stories and experiences of youths on the reality, effects, and strategies for mitigating climate change, with over 700 youths participating in the study, including secondary school students, undergraduate and graduate students, employed and unemployed youths, youths with disabilities, and youths in the agriculture value chain.
The climate change project involved surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, awareness campaigns via webinars, online promotions, and the collection of over 5000 signatures to support climate action.
From the various engagements during the event, it was discovered that food insecurity is one of the greatest effects of climate change in Nigeria. The outcomes necessitated some climate demands from global policymakers. These include the establishment of climate smart demonstration farms for food security, green jobs, and reduction of carbon emissions; the setting up of effective systems to monitor climate change related funds disbursed to national governments, especially in developing countries; and a review of the criteria for accessing climate finance so that it can be easily accessible to researchers and NGOs.
A major outcome of the project is its significant contribution to shaping global, national, and local climate change policies for our sustainable existence.