Peace Point Development Foundation Demands Climate Justice for Nigeria’s Oil, Forest Communities at COP30
By Ekemini Simon
As world leaders converge in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30), the Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF) has called on negotiators to move beyond lofty rhetoric and deliver real justice for vulnerable communities across the Global South particularly those in Nigeria’s oil producing, coastal and forest regions.
In its position statement signed by the Coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation, Comrade Umo Isua-Ikoh and released at the opening of the conference, PPDF demanded that COP30 must not become another platform for “ambition without justice,” insisting that the climate crisis can only be tackled effectively if the lived realities of frontline communities are embedded in global and national commitments.
The organisation, which has worked for decades in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, coastal belt, and solid mineral mining areas, said it was standing in solidarity with “sacrificed zones” which are regions devastated by oil extraction, deforestation, gas flaring, and pollution and asked governments of the Global South to make the new 2025–2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) reflect these communities’ needs.
PPDF demanded that the new NDCs explicitly incorporate community-led monitoring and remediation of extractive sector damage, prioritize fossil fuel dependent localities for transition support, and commit to restoring forests, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems as part of nature based solutions.
According to the foundation, “climate ambition begins with addressing compelling legacy issues such as oil spills, mangrove destruction, water contamination, and the subjugation of local voices.”
On climate finance, the group backed the call for scaling up global funding to $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries but emphasized that such funds must directly reach community level governance bodies in Nigeria’s oil-impacted and forest zones. PPDF proposed that disbursements be tied to verifiable local outcomes such as restored mangroves, cleaner waterways, and fewer oil spills, with clear grievance mechanisms to ensure transparency.
The foundation welcomed the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility at COP30 but insisted that Indigenous and frontline communities must lead decision-making and benefit-sharing processes. “Finance mechanisms must be designed to empower, not exclude, those who live daily with the consequences of extractive pollution,” the group noted.
Calling for a shift “from rhetoric to restoration,” PPDF asked that global nature finance should include Nigeria’s mangrove and coastal ecosystems within its conservation frameworks. The organisation highlighted the loss of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve in Akwa Ibom State to a petrochemical refinery and similar deforestation in Cross River State as urgent examples of ecosystem collapse driven by industrial activities. It warned that these losses also threaten endangered species and the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.
On adaptation, PPDF called for stronger funding commitments targeting Nigeria’s most climate vulnerable regions, including the Niger Delta and forest communities facing oil pollution, flooding, and disrupted fisheries. It urged that adaptation efforts incorporate peacebuilding and governance reforms to address underlying community tensions. “Metrics for adaptation success must reflect real human resilience such as restored fisheries, cleaner water, and empowered youth and women, not just macroeconomic figures,” the statement read.
Reinforcing the call for a “fair, fast and final” shift to clean energy, the foundation said Nigeria’s transition must not abandon extractive host communities. It called on the government to include just transition mechanisms that ensure job creation, retraining, and environmental rehabilitation for those affected by fossil fuel decline. It also advocated that part of Nigeria’s fossil fuel subsidies be redirected toward remediation and resilience funds in degraded oil-producing areas.
PPDF maintained that clean energy finance must be equity oriented, prioritizing women, youth, and persons with disabilities who bear multiple burdens of the climate crisis. “Environmental justice is inseparable from clean energy justice,” the organization noted.
As COP30 unfolds, PPDF said it was amplifying the voices of women monitoring oil spills in the Niger Delta, youth protecting mangrove ecosystems, and fishers struggling with the combined impact of pollution and coastal erosion. The foundation stressed that success at COP30 must be measured not by “the page counts of new pledges” but by whether tangible results reach Nigeria’s and the Global South’s most impacted communities.
“The Global South must understand that justice is the hinge upon which climate ambition must turn,” PPDF said. “For Nigeria, COP30 must mark a turning point from marginalization of extractive host communities to genuine inclusion; from promises of mitigation to real adaptation and restoration; and from clean energy promises to equitable, just transition and ecological recovery.”
With delegates from around the world in attendance, the Peace Point Development Foundation said it remains ready “to partner, monitor, and hold all actors accountable to ensure that climate action becomes community empowerment and not community imposition.”