Civil society organisations (CSOs) and the Nigerian federal government are working together to rank, track, and assess state and local government Climate Change initiatives. In Abuja, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) held a stakeholders’ workshop on the Climate Action Index (CAI) in partnership with the Centre for Climate Action, Innovation, and Engagement (CCAIE) and the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) to discuss this initiative. The Director-General of BPSR, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, said the CAI’s objectives are to encourage competition, drive accountability, and showcase exemplary practices that can be applied nationwide.
The program guarantees that climate efforts at the subnational level are open, quantifiable, and successful, in line with Nigeria’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act of 2021. The CAI was created to find implementation gaps, improve accountability, and offer a path to net-zero emissions, according to Mr. A’Aron John, Executive Director of CCAIE. Additionally, he emphasised that between 1990 and 2021, Nigeria’s Emissions grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 1%.
Nigeria is facing serious climate-related issues.
More so, the evaluation criteria for the CAI centre on how well states incorporate their climate action plans into policies and implementation frameworks and match them with federal targets. Nigeria is facing serious climate-related issues, such as increasing flooding, desertification, and rising temperatures. Nigeria’s temperatures are predicted to increase by 2.9°C to 5.7°C by 2100, which would exacerbate already-existing environmental stresses. Additionally, the nation has seen increased rainfall patterns that have resulted in significant flooding. For example, the floods in 2022 displaced about 1.4 million people and impacted over 3.2 million people, killing over 600 people.
Moreover, Desertification is a severe danger that affects more than 70 million Nigerians and degrades around 75 million hectares of land. The socioeconomic effects of these environmental changes are significant, impacting livelihoods, agriculture, and public well-being in general. A number of governments in Nigeria have put in place successful climate policies and initiatives that complement the goals of the Climate Action Index (CAI). For instance, Lagos State has created all-encompassing plans to address floods, which include building drainage systems and encouraging the development of climate-resilient infrastructure.
States and LGAs receive scores according to how well they execute.
Other areas can learn from the state’s dedication to climate adaption. As part of the Great Green Wall effort, states in Northern Nigeria have also undertaken Afforestation initiatives with the goal of halting desertification and restoring degraded regions. By generating jobs, these initiatives boost local economies in addition to environmental sustainability. The CAI uses a number of important factors to assess and rank subnational administrations. evaluating how state and local climate action plans align with national goals, including those set forth in Nigeria’s Paris Agreement Nationally Determined Contributions.
Making sure that climate action is mainstreamed across several sectors by assessing how state policies and implementation frameworks incorporate climate considerations. Evaluating the success of climate projects that have been implemented, including quantifiable decreases in Greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in climate resilience. Fostering accountability through public reporting procedures while taking into account the accessibility and availability of data pertaining to climate activities. States and LGAs receive scores according to how well they execute in each of these areas, creating a competitive atmosphere that promotes ongoing advancements in climate change initiatives.
Related Article: Strengthening climate resilience in Nigeria
Experts in the environment stress how urgent it is to address these problems in order to improve the efficacy of climate policies. In their support of community-based strategies, local leaders emphasise the value of incorporating indigenous knowledge and customs into the development and application of climate solutions. Despite continuous efforts, Nigeria still faces a number of challenges in the fight against climate change, including a lack of funding, political will, capacity limitations, and public awareness. In order to overcome these obstacles, government organisations, Civil Society organisations, and foreign partners must work together to mobilise funds, develop capacity, and increase public participation in climate action.