Some nihilists mock climate change conversations as “epic nonsense,” preferring a call to arms or a night of reckless abandon over the steady stream of climate warnings. To them, climate change feels like a pep talk that’s always too late, too preachy, or simply too abstract.
But the weather has stopped being polite about it.
In Kinshasa, recent floods swallowed homes and lives. And though scientists couldn’t pin the latest catastrophe solely on climate change, data speaks volumes. According to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, extreme rainfall in the region has increased in intensity by 9–19% since 1960. Climate-linked events like this aren’t freak accidents anymore — they are the new normal in a world that’s already 1.3°C warmer.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is turning its attention to a different kind of storm: the energy transition. The federal government, in partnership with the United Nations, is drafting guidelines for a just transition, a shift from fossil fuels to clean energy that protects jobs, communities, and industries from being left behind.
“We want a transition that reflects the realities of everyone involved,” said Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, head of the National Council on Climate Change Secretariat (NCCCS), during a recent workshop in Lagos.
The initiative is intended to decarbonize the economy while also keeping people at the center of the conversation especially those in vulnerable communities.
Still, even well-crafted policies face resistance when trust is low. For citizens dealing with food shortages, poverty, and insecurity, climate change can feel like a luxury worry. But experts warn that it’s exactly this misuse of the Earth our overconsumption, pollution, and fossil addiction that’s driving the very crises we want to ignore: poor health, failed harvests, and rising conflicts over water, land, and livelihoods.
In this reality, denial is dangerous.
Beyond Nigeria, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is urging the continent to shift from merely exporting raw minerals to building industries that process and add value locally.
The global race for clean energy technologies, batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, depends on minerals like cobalt, bauxite, and manganese, many of which are abundant in Africa.
“Africa holds the key,” said AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina. “The Democratic Republic of Congo alone produces 70 percent of the world’s cobalt.” Adesina believes that with the right investments and policies, countries like Nigeria can become global leaders in solar panel production and clean-tech innovation.
To achieve that vision, five priorities have been outlined: massive investment in energy infrastructure, strategic development of critical minerals, clean energy-linked industrialization, sound regulatory policies, and good governance that upholds community rights.
It’s a bold path forward, but the alternative is bleak. Climate change is not waiting for us to be ready. Its aggression is already evident — in storms, floods, droughts, and heatwaves. In the erosion of coastlines. In the increasing spread of climate-sensitive diseases. In the rising cost of food and the fall of harvests.
The truth is, climate change is not just about polar bears or melting ice caps. It’s about people; your neighborhood, your health, your future. It’s the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the land we stand on. And ignoring it won’t stop the sky from breaking.
The choice, as always, is ours.
