The Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF) has stressed the need for journalists to give adequate attention to issues of environmental and climate change impacts in order to boost public awareness of the dangers.

The executive director of CFSF, Sani Baba, stated this at a two-day capacity building workshop for journalists, organised in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Abuja on Wednesday.

The workshop focused on strengthening the capacity of journalists reporting on the environment to enable them to play a key role in advancing effective implementation of policies aimed at mitigating climate change impacts.

Mr Baba, represented by the deputy director of CFSF programmes, Mohammed Bomoi, noted that climate change often hinders growth, adding that the workshop would help to deepen awareness of its dangers.

He said that although Nigeria had signed and ratified the prioritisation of education and training in Article 6 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more needed to be done to achieve the targets.

“We have very serious issues because people who should make contributions to such documents, their voices have not been heard.

“We know how much we fought as labour to even get minimal involvement in that process, and that should not be so.

“So, those are some of the things media practitioners should take note of and begin to thrive. This is the essence of this workshop. How many of the stakeholders are involved?” Mr Baba asked.

He reiterated the importance of education and training as tools to promote stakeholder engagement in advancing climate change actions.

The workshop featured a presentation titled “The Science of Climate Change and the Evolution of the Struggle for Just Transition” by Echezona Asuzu, coordinator, NLC Climate Change, Green Jobs and Just Transition Programme.

Other sessions included “Contemporary Environmental Degradation and Climate Change Issues in Nigeria”, “Basics of Reporting Climate Issues in Nigeria”, and “The Art of Storytelling” by Philip Jakpor, executive director, Renevlyn Development Initiative.

There was also a presentation on “Interpreting Global Politics for Climate Justice into National Realities” by Elijah Iklaga, as well as live reportage, post-assessment, and presentation of certificates by the ILO representative, Stephen Agugua.

(NAN)