Climate Change
UNSPLASH

The Nigerian government is planning to spend more than $1.9 trillion in the next 47 years to achieve its goal of attaining net-zero emissions by 2060, as reported by The Punch Newspaper.

The country is looking to raise an initial $10 billion support package and has identified a $23 billion investment opportunity in current in-country projects that can be funded by private sector investors, multilateral lenders, and development finance institutions.

For the past decade, Nigeria has been struggling with a lack of funds, which has led to a deficit in capital expenditure and investments. The country has also seen an increase in its population, which creates additional pressure on the already strained resources.

A Document on the Energy Transition Plan said that $135 billion to $150 billion needs to be spent on the infrastructure and power sectors. Furthermore, $12 billion must be allocated for the oil and gas industry, $21 billion for the industrial sector, $79 billion for the cooking industry, and $12 billion for the transport sector, Punch newspaper reported.

In June 2022, the United Nations urged Nigeria to vigorously pursue the implementation of national climate change plans and ramp up its ambition towards meeting the net-zero by 2060 goal.

Nigeria's climate change plans include the Nationally Determined Contributions, the Energy Transition Plan, and the Climate Change Act.

Nigel Topping, the United Nations High-Level Champion for COP26, called for engagement with the government on the implementation of national climate change plans during a visit to Nigeria.

During his visit from June 14-16, Mr. Topping congratulated Nigeria on its ambitious revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as well as the Energy Transition Plan presented at COP26 last November.

He also praised the Nigerian government for passing the Climate Change Act, which will help the country meet its climate goals.

During his visit, he also met with private and financial sector leaders, civil society organizations, and climate change activists in both Abuja and Lagos.

The meetings provided an opportunity to discuss the opportunities of a green transition, understand the challenges and how to overcome them, as well as advance the UK government's overall effort to boost climate action in Nigeria.

Nigeria submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2021. This document was a component of the Paris Agreement endorsed during the 21st UN Climate Change Conference, also known as the Conference of the Parties-21 (COP21).

In the updated NDC, Nigeria proposed mitigating four greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). This is in contrast to the three GHGs (CO2, CH4, and N2O) proposed in the previous NDC that was submitted.

Nigeria has recommitted to reducing its carbon emissions by 20 percent below business-as-usual by 2030 and has increased its conditional target to 47 percent.

President Muhammadu Buhari made a further commitment at the COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 that Nigeria would cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2060.