Kalu seeks global legislative action to unlock investment

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has called for coordinated legislative action across the world to mobilise investment in climate projects and strengthen the resilience of communities exposed to flooding, food insecurity and other climate-related disasters.

Kalu said parliamentary debates must move beyond pledges to practical measures that attract financing and translate climate commitments into infrastructure, jobs and protection for vulnerable populations.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, the deputy speaker made the proposal on Thursday during a debate on “Urgent Parliamentary Action to Address Climate-related Disasters and Strengthen Resilience” at the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Arusha, Tanzania.

The assembly, hosted by Tanzania’s National Assembly, runs from October 5 to 9.

Kalu proposed an intervention built on two pillars: a pipeline of investment-ready projects in key sectors and a platform to help viable projects secure financing and progress to implementation.

“Today, I propose that this debate should not end as another important conversation. It should become the beginning of a structured legislative intervention across the globe.

“First, it should support the development of an investor-ready pipeline of priority projects across clean energy, transport, agriculture, resilient infrastructure and the circular economy.

“Second, it should establish a project-preparation and transaction-support platform that helps move viable projects from concept to bankability, financing and implementation,” he said.

Kalu said the consequences of climate change were already disrupting livelihoods, weakening food production and placing pressure on communities and infrastructure.

“Across the globe farmers are confronting irregular rainfall and declining yields; coastal communities are facing erosion and rising waters; businesses are losing productive hours to unreliable energy; and cities are struggling with flooding that overwhelms drainage systems and infrastructure.

“Our people are already living with the consequences of extreme weather, flooding, land degradation, food insecurity and climate-related displacement. Climate finance must therefore support both emissions reduction and human resilience,” he said.

The deputy speaker urged lawmakers to use legislation to create the legal certainty and public accountability required to support resilient and sustainable economies.

“As legislators we should understand that legislation must not remain a statement of intent. It must become an instrument of delivery,” he said.

He stressed that Nigeria’s climate priorities must be measured by their impact on farming, electricity supply, employment, urban safety and industrial development.

“For Nigeria, climate action is not an abstract environmental aspiration, but about whether a farmer can harvest despite changing rainfall patterns; whether a family can access affordable and reliable electricity; whether a young person can find dignified work in a modern economy; whether our cities can withstand floods; and whether Africa’s largest economy can industrialise without reproducing the environmental vulnerabilities of the past,” Kalu said.

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