We, delegates of the Niger Delta Climate Change Conference 2025; comprising civil society organizations, traditional rulers, women leaders, youth advocates, government representatives, climate scientists, legal experts, and community stakeholders – gathered here in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, from July 7-11, 2025, to engage in urgent dialogue on Climate Justice, Environmental Degradation, and Community Resilience in the Niger Delta.
This communiqué reflects our collective voices, historical truths, and unwavering commitment to restoring our lands, defending our rights, and building a sustainable and just future for the Niger Delta and Africa at large.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We express profound appreciation to;
Rev. Dr. Nnimmo Bassey for his legacy and conviction in the environmental justice movement.
Hon. Seidu Issifu, Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Republic of Ghana, for reinforcing Pan-African solidarity.
UNDP-GEF SGP, HYPREP, NOSDRA, and State Ministries of Environment for their presence and insights.
Royal Fathers and Traditional Institutions, Women’s Coalitions, and Youth Movements for anchoring community engagement and amplifying lived experiences.
Dr. Emem Okon, founder of KEBETKACHE Women Development and Resource Centre, for her tireless advocacy and leadership in championing women’s climate justice in the Niger Delta.
Caroline Dennett, of Justice4Nigeria for setting up and coordinating the Zoom platform and managing the online community throughout the conference.
UMI Fund (Urban Movement Innovation Fund) for their catalytic support in empowering grassroots movements and local environmental justice campaigns.
Union of Concerned Scientists (US), for their solidarity, technical engagement, and support in strengthening environmental justice discourse in the Niger Delta.
Legal practitioners, notably LEIGHDAY Law Firm (UK), for their contributions to transnational environmental litigation.
OilWatch, for sustaining the frontline resistance against fossil fuel extraction in Africa and globally.
CAPPA (Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa) for their critical thought leadership and engagement on climate justice and accountability.
HOMEF (Health of Mother Earth Foundation) for their movement-building efforts and environmental rights advocacy and supporting the conference.
Power Shift Africa, for their Pan-African leadership in just energy transition and climate diplomacy.
African Just Transition Network (AJTN), for their strong advocacy for renewable energy access, restorative justice, and Africa-led transition strategies.
Youth in Policy and Development (YouPAD), for ensuring that young people’s voices, priorities, and innovations were central to conversations on justice and resilience.
GreenFaith Nigeria, for strategic support and mobilizing faith-based leaders.
RADEC, for mobilizing a one-day strategic planning meeting.
SpellingMistakesCostLives.Com, for video documentation of the event and generous distribution of climate justice T-shirts that amplified collective voice.
KEY OBSERVATIONS
1. The Niger Delta remains an epicenter of environmental injustice, suffering from decades of oil pollution, gas flaring, land degradation, and ecological neglect – amounting to what has been termed ecocide.
2. Women and children are disproportionately affected, with evidence of hydrocarbon traces found in the blood of residents and increasing reproductive health crises.
3. The climate crisis is deepening social and economic marginalization, eroding traditional livelihoods, worsening insecurity, and weakening local governance structures.
4. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, communities in the Niger Delta bear the highest cost of fossil fuel extraction with little or no compensation or accountability from responsible actors.
5. Ocean encroachment due to sea-level rise is severely affecting frontline coastal communities in Bayelsa and Rivers States, displacing populations and threatening livelihoods. Despite this crisis, no regulatory oversight is currently in place over international Oil companies (IOCs), many of whom have moved their assets offshore, effectively escaping environmental accountability.
RESOLUTIONS AND CALLS TO ACTION
1. Environmental Restoration and Accountability
· Immediate and full-scale cleanup of polluted lands, creeks, and mangroves in the Niger Delta before divestment.
· Independent health audit for men, women, and children in oil-affected communities.· Full implementation and enforcement of the Ogoni Clean-Up and expansion to other affected areas.
· Transparent monitoring of offshore oil drilling, gas flaring, and extractive industry activities.
· Support and enforcement of community-led environmental data gathering and monitoring.
2. Climate Justice and Legal Redress
· Recognition of historical and ongoing environmental crimes as human rights violations.
· Demand for reparations and just compensation from oil corporations and the Nigerian state.
· Strengthening transnational legal actions and global partnerships to hold polluters accountable under international law.
3. Women’s Rights and Climate Leadership
· Urgent mainstreaming of women’s voices, expertise, and leadership in climate action and environmental governance.
· Institutional support for women’s cooperatives, renewable energy enterprises, and agroecology initiatives.
· Funding and sponsorship of 30 Niger Delta women to attend COP30 in Brazil, with clear engagement plans.
· Recognition of climate justice as a gender justice issue; women’s rights are human rights.
4. Youth, Education, and Innovation
· Integration of climate education, culture, and spirituality into school curricula and public campaigns.
· Capacity building for young activists, farmers, creatives, and traditional practitioners.
· Adoption of digital tools and traditional knowledge for documenting, resisting, and rebuilding.
5. Just Energy Transition
· Immediate halt to new fossil fuel extraction and commitment to “Leave the Oil in the Ground”.
· Investment in community-owned renewable energy solutions.
· Protection of frontline defenders and traditional rulers resisting destructive investments.
· Formation of African-led climate coalitions to influence COP30 negotiations and beyond.
COMMITMENTS
Participants reaffirm their commitment to;
· Advocate jointly at Africa Climate Summit 2025 (Addis Ababa) and COP30 (Brazil) for a just, African-owned energy transition.
· Negotiate for the promotion of Agroecology amongst the vulnerable Niger Delta farmers suffering climate injustice (launch a campaign in COP30 for Niger Delta vulnerable farmers)
· Develop and implement a Niger Delta Climate Justice Action Plan, aligned with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
· Document and preserve traditional environmental protection knowledge and herbal medicine wisdom.
· Establish a Women’s Climate Justice Council to coordinate advocacy and programmatic interventions in the region.
· Launch and promote the KEN SARO-WIWA Boot-Resilience Camp in Nigeria.
· Pursue deeper regional integration between Niger Delta and other regional territories affected by extractIVISM.
CONCLUSION
The Niger Delta cannot afford to remain a sacrifice zone. The time for half-measures is over. We demand climate justice, accountability, and community restoration – not tomorrow, but today. Our resolve is to ensure that no voice is silenced, no land is abandoned, and no child grows up in fear of poisoned water, air, or soil.
We end this conference with the words of Rev. Dr. Nnimmo Bassey – “Silence is treason. Resistance is life – Ken Saro-Wiwa”
Signed:
Participants of the Niger Delta Climate Change Conference 2025, Port Harcourt, Rivers State – July 11, 2025
Signatories:
