Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has commenced the development of the state’s first Climate Transition Plan to tackle threats to agriculture and livelihoods, protect biodiversity and attract investments in a greener economy.
Represented by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, at the inaugural workshop in Calabar on Tuesday, Otu said changing weather patterns, unpredictable agricultural cycles and ecological displacement demanded coordinated action by government, businesses and communities.
The governor, who chairs the Cross River State Council on Climate Change, said the plan would provide a framework for strengthening climate resilience and promoting sustainable economic growth in line with his administration’s People First agenda.
He called on financial institutions and private investors to explore green financing, green bonds and sustainable business opportunities to support the transition. Otu said Cross River’s conservation assets, including more than half of Nigeria’s remaining tropical rainforests, valuable mangrove ecosystems and rich biodiversity, required deliberate protection.
The process, he explained, would begin with four baseline assessments across the state’s 18 local government areas, covering greenhouse gas emissions, climate risks and vulnerabilities, climate finance, and mitigation strategies. The assessments would provide reliable data to guide policy decisions, establish priorities and support implementation.
He acknowledged Future Funds, the Under2 Coalition and the Climate Group for providing the seed grant for the studies, as well as the contributions of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Development Programme to the state’s environmental, agricultural and green development initiatives.
The governor urged ministries, departments and agencies, council chairmen, civil society organisations, community representatives and businesses to contribute actively, stressing that success would depend on reliable information, collective ownership and practical implementation.
He said the workshop would also review and finalise the first-order drafts of the state’s Climate Change Policy and Action Plan and the Green Economy Policy and Action Plan.
Earlier, the Director-General of the State Council on Climate Change, Edu Effiom, said the workshop would initiate the transition plan’s development, facilitate a review of its zero draft and commence the baseline studies.
She said government agencies and local councils had a critical responsibility to provide sector-specific data and technical input to shape the plan’s targets, projections and policy priorities.
Effiom stressed that climate action must be reflected in government budgets and local development plans to translate policy commitments into results.
She commended Otu for establishing the council and providing political leadership, adding that the body would coordinate the technical and institutional support required for implementation.
In a goodwill message, the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the State Planning Commission, Bong Duke, said the plan should become a central framework for Cross River’s future economic development.
He called for climate adaptation and mitigation measures to be integrated into infrastructure planning, budgeting and sectoral strategies.
Duke pledged the commission’s cooperation to ensure that data, economic targets and recommendations emerging from the process informed the state’s medium- and long-term development plans.