Climate Watch: Katsina pledges 30% of annual budget to climate action

Climate change directly affects our communities, health, and livelihoods.

Yet, media coverage often prioritises politics and business over climate-related stories, leaving crucial environment news under-reported.

Climate Watch seeks to bridge this information gap, ensuring that important climate change stories and mitigation efforts stay on your radar.

Here is a round up of last week’s climate stories:

• Dikko Radda, governor of Katsina, has pledged to allocate 30 percent of the state’s annual budget to climate-resilient infrastructure as part of efforts to establish a Green Investment Fund. 

Radda spoke on April 23 at the Katsina State Climate Action and Green Investment Summit in Abuja with the theme: ‘Turning climate challenges into development opportunities in Katsina state’.

“We will allocate 30 percent of our annual budget to climate-resilient infrastructure and establish a Green Investment Fund to de-risk projects,” the governor said.

He added that the state government would kick-start the fund with an initial N5 billion and put in place mechanisms to attract private capital.

The governor unveiled the Katsina Green Growth Agenda (KAGGA).

The agenda includes initiatives such as expanding drip irrigation, promoting drought-resistant crops, and scaling up agro-forestry practices to protect farmers from climate shocks.

“My administration will enact the Katsina Climate-Related Laws within 12 months to institutionalise accountability and create a stable policy environment for green investments,” he said.

Highlighting some of the state’s achievements, Radda said 120 solar-powered boreholes worth N2.4 billion had been completed to address water scarcity and promote irrigation, with 60 more under construction.

“This means more water for farmers, more food on our tables, and more income for families,” he said.

“We’ve already planted over 100,000 economic trees and are nurturing three million more, spread across schools, institutions, and shelter belts.

“KAGGA expands our participation in the Great Green Wall Initiative with an ambitious target of 10 million trees planted by 2030. These trees will focus on indigenous species that thrive in our conditions.

“Additionally, we are launching a ‘Waste-to-Wealth’ programme to turn the 500 tonnes of plastic waste generated daily in our state into eco-friendly products, driven by youth entrepreneurs.”

• President Bola Tinubu has called on world leaders to demonstrate unity, courage, and sustained commitment in addressing the worsening global climate crisis. Read more here.

• The Africa Make Big Polluters Pay Coalition, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has held a training session for journalists across Africa to help sustain the coverage of the climate crisis from an afro-centric perspective. Read more here.