Climate governance expert and legal practitioner, Huzi Mshelia, has called for intensified support for subnational climate action in Nigeria, stressing that inclusive, well-structured partnerships are crucial to building resilience in the face of escalating climate threats. He made this call while delivering a paper titled “Empowering Climate Resilience: Role of Partnership in Subnational Climate Action” at a recent NEST webinar.
Mshelia’s presentation spotlighted the growing urgency of decentralised climate governance, noting that the bulk of climate-induced disasters, such as flooding and desertification, affect local communities most severely – where technical and financial capacity for adaptation remains limited.
He stated that effective climate response must engage state and local governments, whose proximity to vulnerable populations makes them best suited to deliver impactful, context-specific solutions.
“The Paris Agreement already recognises the importance of involving all levels of government,” he said, citing recent legal frameworks such as the Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021 and Electricity Act 2023, which empower subnationals.
Speaking on the theme’s central thesis, Mshelia emphasised that “no one can go it alone.” He identified dynamic partnerships – spanning government agencies, civil society, academia, the private sector, and international bodies – as critical to achieving effective and sustainable adaptation at the subnational level.
He stressed that partnerships unlock financing, drive innovation, and deepen community ties. “Adaptation is resource-intensive and complex. Cross-sector collaboration enables impact amplification, while knowledge transfer through North–South and South–South partnerships strengthens technical capacity,” he asserted.
For partnerships to thrive, Mshelia outlined key features that include clear governance structures, mutual trust, legal backing, inclusive planning, flexibility, and a strong emphasis on local ownership. These features, he noted, foster transparency and ensure that interventions align with local realities and evolving climate risks.
On community inclusiveness, he urged devolving decision-making to the lowest effective level and addressing structural inequalities faced by women, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous groups, and the displaced. Capacity building, joint resource mobilisation, and scaling of successful innovations were also identified as strategic imperatives.
Real-world success stories were cited to illustrate the power of partnerships. These included Nigeria’s BNRCC Project implemented by NEST, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ multi-stakeholder approach, the ClimateWorks Foundation, and the African Adaptation Initiative, among others. Each example, he noted, demonstrated how collective action accelerates local impact.
According to Mshelia, locally led adaptation (LLA) offers unique advantages: it harnesses indigenous knowledge, enables rapid response to shocks, and ensures that the poorest and most vulnerable are central to decision-making.
“LLA strengthens resilience, reduces risk, and catalyses sustainable development,” he added.
However, he acknowledged formidable challenges: misalignment of goals among partners, unequal power dynamics, over-reliance on aid, fragmented policies, lack of enabling legal frameworks, and limited access to international climate finance. He lamented the absence of a pipeline of investment-ready projects at the subnational level.
“Most public-funded climate finance supports large-scale infrastructure,” he explained. “Subnational entities are rarely prioritised, and often have minimal influence over financial allocations despite bearing the brunt of climate impacts.”
Mshelia called for targeted policy reforms and investment in subnational capacity. He urged policymakers to create legal and institutional mechanisms that support local climate governance, encourage innovation, and promote inclusive participation across all strata of society.
He also advocated integrating adaptation into broader development agendas such as health, food security, infrastructure, and livelihoods. “Climate action must be mainstreamed into every aspect of national and subnational development,” he stressed.
Approaches to enhancing local action, according to him, include climate-smart social protection, digital entrepreneurship hubs, local leadership training, and community charters for transparency and accountability. He recommended deeper engagement with research institutions, CSOs, and local agencies to drive awareness and amplify results.
Mshelia reaffirmed the need for adaptive management and flexible programming to allow for continual learning and policy refinement. “Locally-led adaptation must not only be inclusive but also responsive to changing climate realities,” he maintained.
Reflecting on his extensive experience, Mshelia noted that the cost of inaction on climate change in Africa far outweighs the cost of action.
“In 2022 alone, flood-related damages cost Nigeria over $6.6 billion. The economic, environmental, and social consequences of climate inaction are simply too great to ignore,” he warned.
By Einstein Chukwu
