Write4Climate Essay Competition

Over the years, plastic pollution has become an immense environmental threat. The emergence of several landfills and ditches have increased in numbers. The oceans are not left out. Of the 260 million tons of plastic the world produces each year, about 10 percent ends up in the Ocean, according to a Greenpeace report (Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans, 2006). Seventy percent of the mass eventually sinks, damaging life on the seabed. This has contributed significantly to environmental degradation and more dangerously, Climate Change.

In Compliance with the world Earth day theme – End Plastic Pollution, Climate Smart Nigeria, in Partnership with Enercate plan to organize an online Essay Competition for environmental enthusiasts on the topic ‘The Plastic Menace, Youth Leading Change’. The writers/applicants will take the YALI course on Understanding Climate Change or Understanding Renewable Energy as part of qualification to participate and upload their certificates in the application.

We will select 3 best Essays. First prize will win a Cash Prize of NGN 25, 000, a free copy of the book ‘The Concept and Science of Climate Change’ and one month mentorship by a recycling professional, second best will win NGN 15, 000 and a free copy of the book, third best will win NGN 10, 000 and a free copy of the book. Winners will be urged to use part of their prize to carry out the project they’ve highlighted in their essay or organize a small project geared towards ending plastic pollution and/or use the book to educate students and sharing pictures with the team.

All participants will receive a certificate of participation and will have their essays published in our blog, on all social media platforms and promoted. They will join the Climate Ambassadors Network which our team is currently setting up where they’ll get the chance to participate in tailor made trainings, mentorships and opportunities for personal and professional growth in the environmental space.

This essay writing process will create the next generation of leaders who will think outside the box to provide solutions for plastic pollution. In seeking solutions for how s/he will lead change (title of Essay), they automatically come up with solutions for fighting the climate menace. The process will allow them understand that the answer lies with them to create the change and not in the hands of the government or any other entity. The YALI courses which they will undertake to qualify as a participants will help them comprehend the full concept of Climate Change and the intervention of Renewable Energy and further enlarge their minds to possibilities in the value chains of recycling and other related fields.