As the world marks the 2013 World Earth Day, countries are increasingly participating in efforts to address the myriad effects of climate change, ranging from flooding, earthquake, excessive rains to air pollution.

The theme of this year’s celebration, The Face of Climate Change, aptly underscores the importance of concerted efforts to combat the global phenomenon, which has direct negative impact on the environment.

Climatologists describe climate change as a global problem, which challenges humanity to act fast in efforts to change every negative attitude which could have been a contributory factor to the crisis.

Commenting on the 2013 Earth Day celebration, the President of Earth Day Network, Mrs Kathleen Rogers, said: “We’ll bring our generation’s biggest environmental challenge down to size; the size of an individual faced with the consequences.

“Many people think climate change is a remote problem but the fact is that it is already impacting on real people, animals and beloved places all over the world, and these ‘Faces of Climate Change’ are multiplying every day.

“Fortunately, other ‘Faces of Climate Change’ are also multiplying every day — those stepping up to do something about it,’’ she added.

Besides, a Director at Earth Day Network, Mr Franklin Russell, said: “The day will unite the myriad ‘Earth Day’ events around the world into one call to action at a critical time.

“We’ll harness that power to show the world ‘The Face of Climate Change’ and we’ll call on our leaders to act boldly together, as we have, on this critical issue.

“‘The Face of Climate Change’ will personalise and make real the massive challenge that climate change presents,’’ Russell said.

According to Earth Day Network, the theme of this year’s celebration — The Face of Climate Change — was chosen because of the compelling need to highlight the mounting impact of climate change on individuals around the world.

Similarly, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stressed that the choice of the theme of the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day was most appropriate because climate change had been affecting all spheres of human endeavour.

“The Face of Climate Change’ aims to raise awareness about the devastating impacts of climate change such as prolonged droughts, frequent flooding, cyclones, sea level rise and others,’’ the UN agency said.

However, a Consultant on Environmental Matters at ECOWAS, Mr Samuel Medu, said that the struggle to protect the environment was a collective responsibility for every human being, adding that past failures in that regard led to the current environmental challenges facing the world.

“What we are preaching to our member states is that we should manage our climate. People should not be scared about climate change; they should not attribute the current climate change to the anger of the gods.

“We need to be active and we should participate in climate change mitigation efforts; we, in ECOWAS, are just about developing a policy on the mitigation aspect,’’ he said.

Medu also urged all ECOWAS member states to domesticate the climate change policy document, which was signed by all members in Accra, Ghana, in 2010.

“We have validated that document and it is part of our environmental policy,’’ he added.

Speaking on the consequences of climate change, Alhaji Salisu Dahiru, the Acting Director, Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, stressed that the impact of climate change could never be overlooked or wished away.

“This is because it affects every individual who stands on its way, irrespective of one’s personality. When the environment speaks, everyone listens.

“The impact of climate change cannot be over-emphasised and the environment speaks for itself.

“In the past, when you talk of the effect or the impact of climate change, many people perceived it as an abstract phenomenon because they could not touch climate change.

“However, last year’s floods across the country are a clear testimony that the environment is now speaking for itself.

“When the flood came, it did not distinguish or discriminate between the poor man and the elite; it did not distinguish between the electorate and the political class, everybody was involved,” Dahiru said.

Consequently, the Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, pledged that her ministry would soon launch a public awareness campaign to educate the public on issues relating to climate change, particularly in the areas of adaptation and mitigation.

Mailafia said that as part of efforts to fast-track the awareness campaign, the ministry would establish a graduate programme in Federal University of Technology (FUT), Akure and Federal University of Technology, Minna.

The venture is under the aegis of German International Climate Initiative and the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adaptive Land Use (WASCAL).

She also announced that the special climate change unit in the ministry had been upgraded to a full-fledged department, as part of efforts to tackle the environmental problem.

Besides, Mailafia said that the Nigerian National REDD+ programme had been approved by the UN REDD programme, adding that a REDD+ event recently took place in Calabar at the University of Calabar.

REDD is a UN collaborative programme on “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’’ in developing countries.

All the same, an environmentalist, Mr Deji Jimoh, stressed that climate change was a very critical issue, which necessitated the concerted efforts of everyone to tackle.

“It is not enough to talk of mitigation of climate change or signing of many declarations without taking a serious look at what we have done to cause the climate to change at the speed of light.

“This is a problem which weighs on all of us; people should seriously change their attitude towards the environment; we should dispose of bad habits such as indiscriminate refuse disposal habits.

“The environment is actually our life; if we destroy it, it will fight us back and drastically too. The government should be proactive with its environmental policies, while the people should show some concern about the environment,” Jimoh said.

Earth Day is observed every year with events held across the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

A UN resolution in 2009 designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, which is celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.

However, John McConnell pioneered plans to celebrate the Earth Day in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, U.S.

McConnell then proposed March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, as the day for the celebration. The day was later endorsed in a proclamation signed by former UN Secretary-General U Thant.

A month later, a separate Earth Day was initiated by U.S Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental “teach-in’’ that was first held on April 22, 1970.

While the April 22 Earth Day then focused on the US, an organisation launched by the original national coordinator of the 1970 event, Danis Hayes transformed the Earth Day into an international celebration in 1990 and organised events in 141 nations.

Many communities also celebrate the Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.

Analysts urge the Federal Government to consolidate on the achievements so far made in global climate change mitigation efforts.

They, however, advise the citizens to adopt lifestyles and attitudes, which are capable of protecting the environment, while participating in efforts to address the rising consequences of climate change.

Nwapi writes for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Edith Nwapi