Nigeria’s ambition to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32 per cent by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 faces a major financing challenge, with the country requiring an estimated $337 billion over the next decade to implement its climate commitments.
To address the challenge, the Federal Government on Thursday inaugurated an interministerial steering committee to coordinate the implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 (NDC 3.0), the Net-Zero Investment Plan and the Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy.
The Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Mrs. Tenioye Majekodunmi, said the estimated financing requirement for 2026 to 2035 included approximately $195 billion for emissions mitigation and $141.5 billion for climate adaptation.
She described the funding requirement as both a challenge and an opportunity to attract investments into energy, agriculture, infrastructure and other sectors capable of creating jobs, strengthening economic resilience and advancing national development priorities.
Majekodunmi said the government must develop credible investment pipelines, strategically deploy public and concessional financing, attract domestic and international private capital, and establish the policy certainty required to inspire investor confidence.
She explained that the steering committee would provide high-level coordination, integrate climate priorities into national planning and budgeting, mobilise financing and address implementation bottlenecks that individual ministries could not resolve independently.
According to her, the committee’s performance should be assessed by the obstacles it removes, the investments it unlocks and the results it delivers, rather than the number of meetings it holds.
The committee comprises relevant ministries and institutions whose decisions on finance, energy, agriculture, transportation, industry and other sectors will shape the implementation of Nigeria’s climate commitments. The NCCC will provide technical secretariat support through coordination, policy analysis, implementation tracking and engagement with development partners.
In a keynote address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, urged ministries, departments and agencies to integrate climate considerations into their policies, budgets and investment decisions, stressing that climate commitments must translate into measurable benefits for Nigerians.
Akume, who was represented by Prof. Babatunde Bernard, a Nigerian scientist, environmental scholar and Technical Adviser to the SGF, said Nigeria must move beyond policy declarations to deliver tangible outcomes.
“We must therefore judge success by implementation, not announcements; by measurable outcomes, not intentions; and by the benefits delivered to our citizens, not documents produced,” he said.
The SGF noted that climate change could no longer be treated as the exclusive responsibility of the environmental sector, given its implications for food security, infrastructure, public health, water resources, coastal communities and livelihoods.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, the private sector, financial institutions, research institutions and international development partners to ensure that climate priorities were reflected in practical programmes and investment decisions.
Akume also urged state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to incorporate climate considerations into agriculture, transportation, urban development, waste management, infrastructure and community resilience.
He maintained that Nigeria’s transition to a low-emissions economy must reflect the country’s development realities, including the need to expand access to affordable and reliable energy, create jobs, strengthen industrial capacity and protect vulnerable communities.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) identified the development of investment-ready projects as critical to securing the funding required to implement Nigeria’s climate action plan.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, said many potentially viable private-sector initiatives remained unfunded because they lacked adequate feasibility studies, credible business models, clear implementation arrangements or appropriate financing instruments.
She stressed that preparing projects to meet investors’ requirements was essential to attracting private capital, particularly for initiatives that offer substantial public benefits but may not generate sufficient commercial returns independently.
Attafuah said public resources and international climate finance would need to complement private investment, especially in adaptation projects whose benefits might not translate directly into financial returns.
She noted that reliable clean energy could improve business productivity, while climate-smart agriculture could protect farmers’ incomes, strengthen food security and improve resilience to extreme weather events.
Such investments, she added, could promote business competitiveness, healthier communities and a more resilient economy.
The UNDP representative also emphasised the need for transparent carbon-market systems, credible emissions measurement and reporting, and a reliable national carbon registry to strengthen accountability and investor confidence.
Support for developing Nigeria’s national carbon-market registry was highlighted as part of efforts to establish mechanisms for tracking climate-related transactions and verifying results.
Attafuah further stressed that climate projects must respond to local needs and involve communities affected by their implementation.
She said women, young people, farmers and other vulnerable groups should participate from the outset, particularly where changes in technology, land use or employment could affect livelihoods and access to economic opportunities.
State governments were also identified as critical to implementation because decisions on land, infrastructure and public services directly influence climate resilience. The NCCC’s engagement with states is expected to align their development priorities with technical assistance, investment opportunities and practical implementation programmes.
Nigeria’s NDC 3.0 outlines emissions-reduction measures across energy, industry, agriculture, forestry and land use, waste management and other sectors. It also identifies adaptation priorities covering food systems, water resources, health, coastal and urban areas, and disaster-risk management.
The Federal Government has also launched the Net-Zero Investment Plan and the Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy to align immediate climate commitments with the country’s long-term economic transformation.
The initiative comes weeks before the global climate community convenes in Antalya, Türkiye, for the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), providing Nigeria with an opportunity to strengthen partnerships and mobilise international support for its climate priorities.
However, the immediate challenge will be whether the newly inaugurated committee can translate national targets into properly costed programmes, develop projects capable of attracting investment and secure financing on the scale required.
Ultimately, the success of NDC 3.0 will depend not only on emissions reductions but also on whether climate investments improve energy access, protect livelihoods, strengthen resilience, create jobs and deliver measurable benefits to Nigerians.
