By TIM HIRSCH
Emerging from Lagos airport into the smoggy morning heat, the drive across the lagoon to the island housing the smarter parts of the city brought home the vulnerability of this megacity to the impacts of climate change.
At the lagoon’s edge, whole neighbourhoods of rickety houses built on stilts and connected by perilous walkways stretch far out into the water.
It won’t take much sea level rise to make refugees out of these people.
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MARY PRICE reports on her assignment to convince journalists in Nigeria that it’s time to change their views on climate change
The man on the plane is adamant: “You will never make people in Nigeria care about climate change.”
We are flying to Kano – a city of sheep, goats, horses and ten million people – to impart the basics of climate change to local journalists. It’s part of a British Council project called Climate UN covered: The future of our planet uncovered. Everything you ever wanted to know about climate change, Kyoto and Copenhagen. In five days.
So far the runes haven’t been optimistic. The sentiments of my travelling acquaintance are echoed by the journalists who show up for the launch. We know what sells, they say, and it isn’t global warming, environment or climate change. What’s more, no-one in the West is taking responsibility for it, so why should we care?
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