ECOWAS Parliament Addresses Climate Crisis and Insecurity

At the Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Accra, Ghana, experts warned that the worsening climate crisis is leading to population displacement and threatening livelihoods, potentially deepening insecurity across West Africa. The session's theme was “Climate Change as a Driver of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Rising Insecurity in the ECOWAS Region.” Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, opened the proceedings by welcoming participants and emphasizing the significance of addressing regional challenges.

Dr Derek Sarfo-Yiadom, Senior Programme Officer at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Authority, presented an assessment of climate risks, stating that climate hazards such as extreme heat, drought, unpredictable rainfall, flooding, and rising sea levels are already impacting communities. He noted that these hazards become disasters when communities lack the capacity to cope with their effects.