Lawmakers Push For Nigeria’s Prompt Transition To Low-Carbon Economy

The House of Representatives has called for urgent, coordinated action to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a low-carbon economy and avert adverse effects.

The House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, made the call yesterday at a National Decarbonisation Technical Roundtable organised by the House Ad-hoc Committee on the Mandatory National Decarbonisation Programme.

Represented by Hon. Muktar Shagaya (APC, Kwara), Abbas warned that the impacts of climate change were being felt across the country with serious economic and environmental consequences.

He said climate change is no longer a distant or theoretical threat but a present reality affecting communities across Nigeria through extreme weather conditions and environmental disruptions.

Abbas said that while the northern parts of the country are increasingly experiencing drought and desertification, the western region has recorded rising temperatures, the eastern states continue to battle flooding and erosion and the southern parts are witnessing increasingly irregular rainfall patterns.

He noted that global action on climate change has intensified since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, where 196 countries, including Nigeria, committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through nationally determined contributions aimed at limiting global warming.

Abbas warned that failure to respond decisively could have devastating economic implications for the country, particularly for sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and energy that are highly vulnerable to climate-related disruptions.

The speaker, however, emphasised that Nigeria’s decarbonisation agenda should not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the country’s oil and gas sector, which remains a critical pillar of the national economy.

For his part, the chairman of the House Committee on the Mandatory National Decarbonisation Programme, Hon. Sesi Whingan (APC, Lagos), said the National Assembly had already enacted several key legislations to support Nigeria’s climate and energy transition efforts.

He identified these as Climate Change Act 2021, the Electricity Act 2023, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency Act.

Whingan said the House is seeking to complement President Bola Tinubu’s climate and green economy initiatives, particularly efforts to unlock economic opportunities in the emerging carbon market.

He disclosed that the federal government has already approved a National Carbon Market Framework, which is projected to generate between $2.5 billion and $3 billion annually over the next decade.

The director for Africa at the Global Wind Energy Council, Wangari Muchiri, said Nigeria’s growing commitment to decarbonisation presents significant opportunities for economic diversification, job creation and increased investment in clean energy.

She described the transition to a low-carbon economy as critical for Nigeria, particularly given the carbon-intensive nature of major sectors such as oil and gas and agriculture.

Muchiri said the global shift toward cleaner energy systems presents Nigeria with an opportunity to reposition itself economically by tapping into the rapidly expanding carbon economy.