By JOAN NWAGWU

Mr Echezona Asuzu, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Focal Person on Climate Change, says the climate crisis and unfair trade practices are threatening decent work and workers’ livelihoods in Nigeria and globally.

Asuzu said this during a Green and Fair Trade march organised by the NLC Climate Change and Trade Programmes to mark the 2026 Workers’ Day across several states.

Participants carried placards with inscriptions such as “Just Transition without trade unions is highly unjust” and “Climate change is a workplace reality; mainstream workers and unions.”

The workers also called for stronger labour inclusion in climate policy frameworks, including “Workers and trade unions at the heart of NDC 3.0 implementation.”

The march featured advocacy chants and awareness campaigns, with participants reaffirming commitment to climate justice, fair trade and improved public service delivery nationwide.

Asuzu said the theme of the event was “Insecurity and Poverty – Bane for Decent Work,” noting that climate change, trade imbalance and insecurity were interconnected challenges.

According to him, developing countries continue to face decent work deficits in spite of abundant resources due to weak institutions, governance gaps and unfair global trade systems.

He said climate change had intensified resource conflicts, displacement and insecurity in rural communities across Nigeria and other vulnerable regions.

“Climate change has intensified resource conflicts, displacement and insecurity in rural communities

“Environmental degradation is worsening conflict, displacement and insecurity in vulnerable communities.

“Climate impacts are increasing insecurity and disrupting livelihoods in rural areas,” he further stated.

He said that unfair global trade arrangements continued to deny developing countries equitable benefits, worsening poverty and inequality.

Asuzu said workers remained central to the impact of climate change, as extreme weather events and economic shocks affected jobs, income stability and workplace safety.

He said the march aimed to educate workers on the links between climate change, trade policies, financing gaps and resilience challenges.

He added that existing financing frameworks had failed to support poverty reduction, job creation and resilience, calling for fair trade and stronger economic justice mechanisms. (NAN)

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