Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has called for coordinated legislative action worldwide to address climate-related disasters and strengthen resilience in vulnerable communities.
Kalu made the call 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.
He urged lawmakers to move beyond climate pledges and develop practical legislative measures capable of attracting investment and delivering resilient infrastructure, jobs and sustainable economic growth.
Kalu proposed a structured global legislative framework built around two key measures: developing an investor-ready pipeline of priority projects and establishing a platform to support project preparation and financing.
He said priority projects should cover clean energy, transport, agriculture, resilient infrastructure and the circular economy, while the support platform should help viable projects progress from concept to bankability, financing and implementation.
The deputy speaker said lawmakers had a responsibility to create the legal certainty and accountability needed to attract capital and build economies capable of withstanding climate shocks.
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He noted that communities worldwide were already experiencing the effects of changing weather patterns, including irregular rainfall, declining agricultural yields, coastal erosion, flooding, unreliable energy supplies and climate-related displacement.
“For Nigeria, climate action is not an abstract environmental aspiration,” Kalu said, stressing that it was directly linked to food production, energy access, employment, urban resilience and sustainable industrialisation.
He criticised delays in implementing international climate commitments, saying developing countries had continued to face inadequate, inaccessible and costly climate financing despite ambitious global pledges.
Kalu said Nigeria was using the IPU platform to highlight investment opportunities in climate-resilient projects rather than simply restating its financing needs.
He recalled that Nigeria had committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 under its Energy Transition Plan, which seeks to reduce emissions while expanding energy access, creating jobs and strengthening economic resilience.
According to him, the plan estimates that about $500 billion in additional capital investment beyond business-as-usual spending will be required to achieve the 2060 target.
He described the figure as an investment opportunity capable of opening new markets, modernising infrastructure, creating green jobs and encouraging innovation.
Kalu identified distributed renewable energy, solar mini-grids, battery storage, clean cooking, power transmission and distribution, industrial energy efficiency and climate-smart agriculture among areas requiring investment.
Other priorities, he said, include irrigation, cold-chain logistics, food processing, electric mobility, mass transit, low-carbon urban transport, waste-to-value systems, methane reduction and green manufacturing.
He also called for increased investment in adaptation measures, including flood-control systems, resilient drainage, coastal protection, nature-based solutions and climate-resilient housing and infrastructure.
The deputy speaker outlined several legislative priorities for Nigeria, including stronger implementation of the Climate Change Act, improved monitoring of climate-related public spending and credible carbon-market and green-finance frameworks.
He also advocated reforms to strengthen investor protection and contract enforcement, transparent approval processes for green projects, expanded state electricity markets and sustained engagement among government, investors and communities.
Kalu stressed that Nigeria’s transition to a greener economy must be inclusive, with affordable energy, decent employment, skills development and greater participation of women in the green economy.
He said the transition should ensure that vulnerable communities and regions were not left behind as Nigeria pursued sustainable development.
