Babatunde tasks African countries on green energy
By Abubakar Imam
A Professor at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies (CPSSS), University of Ilorin, Abosede O. Babatunde, has called on African countries to take the adoption of green energy more seriously.
Prof. Babatunde stated this while making remarks at a Conference on “Climate Crisis Adaptation, Local-Level Resilience And Conflict Dynamics, Trends and Pattern” ,which was held from November 11 to November 13, 2025 at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. She was one of Co-Conveners of the Conference that was funded by the German Research Foundation.
The don explained that African countries are placed in a precarious situation because of low technological and financial capacities and the limited access to global climate funding.
Prof. Babatunde lamented that African countries, which are mineral-resourced, are also endangered to emission because of weak adherence to environmental regulations by transnational corporations.
She highlighted the need for the global community to meet the 1.5 degree benchmark for global warming as she called for greater drive towards diversifying from fossil fuel to renewable energy in order to meet the green energy transition agenda.
Prof. Babatunde equally pointed out that every effort must be made to reduce the risk of environmental and socio-economic harms from climate change, which was a key theme in the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
She also said that the institutional, financial and technological gaps in African countries necessitate efforts to develop and strengthen existing local climate adaptation strategies that can enhance and build the capacities of affected communities to cope and adapt to the effect of climate change that drives and exacerbates conflicts across the continent.
Prof. Babatunde said that climate-related conflict also exacerbate the effect of climate changes in ways that fuel a vicious cycle and undermines environmental sustainability.
She, therefore, urged experts from academia, civil society and government agencies from participating countries to dialogue on these critical issues and suggest ways ro strengthen African local-level climate adaptation strategies drawing on indigenous knowledge and capacities and strengthening global, continental , regional, national and local collaboration.
An Associate Professor at the CPSS, Dr Shittu Raji, who also participated at the workshop, presented a well-applauded paper, titled “Adaptation And Local Resilience to Farmers-Herder Conflict in Nigeria”,.
The conference drew experts from North America, Europe, Australia and several African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and Morocco, among others.
