Climate change: Multinational Corporations Promoting False Climate Solutions, Says Environmental Rights Activist
KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — An Environmental Rights Activist and the Executive Director, Renevlyn Development Initiative, RDI, Philip Jakpor has accused multinational corporations of promoting false solutions to address climate change.
Jakpor who identified the “false climate solutions” as net zero, biofuel, Geoengineering, emission trading, clean development mechanism, carbon markets and Water Privatization among others, noted that they were not conveying any message other than saying do nothing about climate change.
The Environmental Rights Activist made this known during a virtual training on climate change reporting organized by Citizens Free Service Forum, CFSF for journalists across the country.
Jakpor however, cautioned the journalists to be wary of the industries languages in order not to get themselves deceived into misleading the populaces.
According to him, “it is important for journalists to understand the industries languages such as net zero, among others, so you are not mirroring the delay for action.
“The summary of the industry languages are do nothing about climate change,” he said.
Jakpor said the multinational corporations such as fossil fuels industry, private water industry, Pharmaceutical companies, Disaster capitalists and multinational Agribusiness corporations were the beneficiaries of the current system with their activities around extractive, current industrial models, big agribusiness and industrial plantation companies among others were the drivers of the climate change.
The Environmental Rights Activist however, tasked the journalist on indepth and compelling reports on climate change which captures essential and background information, expose drivers of climate change, call to action and attract policy makers to make climate friendly laws.
Similarly, the Executive Director of Tubali Development Initiative, Hauwa Mustafa emphasized the importance of understanding climate change’s political economy.
She noted that, climate change denial is not based on scientific theory but rather on profiteering.
She said Journalists must look beyond reportage and analyze the politics, economics, and social culture shaping climate change action.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the host and the Executive Director, Citizens Free Service Forum, CFSF, Sani Baba, said the training was conceived to equip media professionals with informed perspectives realizing that Nigeria, like most African countries and countries of the Global South, carry the biggest burdens of the climate change impacts.
“We deliberately linked the climate crisis to water stress because this issue is often overlooked in the climate discourse in Nigeria. Yes, the situation in coastal communities facing inundation is dire. Yes, the deforestation issue is alarming but the mother of all crisis is one that affects water that we all consume and depend on for survival,” he said.
Meanwhile, the training had participants drawn from the print, broadcast and online media across the country.