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As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Nigeria has shown commitment to meeting its obligations by submitting its first and second Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The NDC is not merely a bureaucratic exercise; it is the benchmark by which the world collates and tracks its commitment to tackling the climate crisis and in delivering sustainable development. Once again Nigeria is showing leadership by working hard to submit its third Nationally Determined Contribution (a.k.a. NDC 3.0).

While our commitment to developing our Nationally Determined Contribution is commendable, it is important that we also work hard to avoid the some of the mistakes of the past. In 2021, Nigeria submitted its NDCs 2.0 where she committed to an unconditional reduction of emissions by 20% and a conditional target (contingent on international support) of 47% below BAU by 2030. This target was hailed by both international and experts as ambitious.

However, there was no clear implementation and funding plan which compromise action on the ground. Furthermore, the voices of subnational governments, which comprise the states and local governments that bear the brunt of climate impacts, were largely excluded. This is a profound misstep, as climate action is lived and felt at the community level, not just in Abuja boardrooms.

In Niger State, we are not waiting for direction from the centre before acting. We have launched community-based afforestation programmes, expanded climate-smart agriculture initiatives to build resilience among farmers, and developed early warning systems for floods and landslides that are saving lives in vulnerable communities.

These efforts, including the development of our green economy plan, while they are modest, equally demonstrate that subnational governments are ready to lead if given the recognition and support within national frameworks.

The process of developing NDC 3.0 has shown committed efforts to course-correct and be inclusive and people-centered. State governments were given the opportunity to provide input which we gladly participated in. We therefore hold the process in high esteem to reflect clarity and transparency in its targets, policies and measures and on cross-cutting issues and actions and it must therefore go beyond the rituals of getting input without an ounce of them reflected in the final document.

This next NDC must set clear ambition that reflects leadership, embed stronger adaptation strategies, and ensure financing is both practical and accessible to states. As the September submission deadline approaches, it must also align ambition with implementation, setting clear targets that are not just impressive on paper but actionable on the ground.

Above all, it must be ambitious, inclusive, and credible, it must reflect the important contributions of the subnational as the burden bearer of climate change vulnerabilities. Anything less would betray our people’s yearnings and squander our chance to lead Africa toward a climate-resilient future.

By Yakubu kolo, Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Niger State, Nigeria

From September 1 to 10, 2025, leaders from Africa, experts in climate change, practitioners from the private sector, members of civil society, youth leaders, donors and development partners, as well as representatives from UN bodies and various multilateral organizations will convene in the historic Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for the Africa Climate Action Week and the Africa Climate Summit with the theme “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa’s Resilient and Green Development”

The theme of the summit evokes the need for Africa’s drive for resilience to be aligned with the continent’s dire need for infrastructural development in order to meet its many nagging needs. Incidentally these gatherings carries the burden of being either a set of glorious climate fanfares, or a chance for deep conversations on the way forward for Africa in terms of climate action aligned with sustainable development. It is explicitly a matter of choice and the only pathway to attaining the latter is by holding honest and inclusive conversations that would lead to commitments which must be backed by sincere action.

As most experts would avow, Africa’s problems have never been about policies or gatherings to hold conversations. With the support of the West, we have never fallen short of policies, and even attendances at international fora. Nonetheless, the continent’s key problem has always been about the implementation of policies. The reasons for this range from weak governance systems, lack of people-centered political leadership, capacity gaps, improper enunciation of the pathways to success, a top-to-bottom approach as against a bottom-to-top approach, lack of financial support, etc.

At the end of the first summit, African leaders adopted landmark “Nairobi Declaration”, calling for a global carbon tax on fossil fuels, aviation, and shipping; reform of international financial systems; and fast-tracking the Loss and Damage Fund, ahead of COP28.

If we must be fair to ourselves as Africans, we must take stock of these demands as we prepare for the second summit. The ACS and ACW therefore can offer important platforms for honest conversations that will be backed by implementable plans as we journey to COP30, and dangerously come close to missing the cut-off point for Mission 1.5 or 2.0.

Already, the ACS2 has listed critical focus areas including: redefining Africa’s climate aspirations; highlighting Africa-led solutions; shifting from aid to investment; nature-based solutions and technology; climate finance and adaptation; and building partnerships.

The focus areas assume of Africa as a single climatically and ecologically uniform entity centralised at a specific point, and thus every action is one-for-all. Consequently, there is a failure of understanding that climate impacts and actions vary across Africa and even within the nations that make up the continent. While these focus areas are commendable, we must recognize that without multi-level action Africa cannot fully achieve resilience and climate goals, including the continent’s sustainable development agenda.

But, it is not too late. In the series of meetings, high-level sessions, and bilaterals that will take place in Addis Ababa, conscious effort must be made to integrate the opinions, needs, and suggestions of indigenous people, communities, women and children, and most especially, Africa’s subnational. It highly imperative that discussions and plans at the regional summit must reflect this to galvanise increased actions at the subnational levels.

Undoubtedly, there is no question as to the fact that climate impacts are felt at the lowest of levels- the subnational-which then reflects differently at the national, regional, and continental level. For instance, in Nigeria, the climate impacts in Sokoto State would be land degradation, desertification, drought, etc. while for a subnational State like Enugu State, or Ekiti State, it would be soil erosion, excessive rainfall, etc. Subnational entities play a crucial role in climate change action due to their capacity for localised policy implementation, innovation, and community engagement. They can tailor solutions to specific regional challenges, enhance accountability, and mobilize resources effectively.

Africa is a climatically and ecologically diverse place covering approximately 30.3 million km2 of the earth. Therefore, its various sub-parts must have different climate challenges. Hence, it is critically important that this climatic and ecological diversity must be foregrounded whenever conversations on climate action and sustainable development in the continent are held. One therefore hopes and strongly urges that urgent efforts must be made to ensure that the ACS and ACW are leveraged to reflect this. This is the only way to engender equity, justness, and indeed impactful actions.

By Professor Sam Ugwu, Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Enugu State, Nigeria

The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) has released a scoping paper titled “On the Road to COP30 and Beyond: Developing an Effective NDCs-LT-LEDS to Guide Africa’s Sustainable Development.” The paper examined the continent-wide landscape of Africa’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), assessing ambition, governance readiness, net-zero commitments, and the presence of implementation frameworks.

With most nations missing the initial deadline and now racing to meet the extended deadline for the 3rd round of NDCs in September 2025, this report draws lessons from five case countries – Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe – and finds that while most African countries have submitted NDCs, implementation remains weak, driven mainly by severe finance shortfalls.

While the paper lauded African countries for ambitious commitments in NDCs, it lamented that implementation shortfall makes them insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal and by extension Africa’s sustainable development drive.

Although negotiators at COP29 agreed a new global finance goal, outcomes fell short of delivering the scale and operational detail needed by Africa, making COP30 a critical opportunity to turn headline commitments into concrete funding and delivery mechanisms.

According to the report, current global NDCs are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal hence the need for increased ambition in NDCs 3.0. The paper argues that the next generation of pledges (NDCs 3.0) must both raise ambition and be structured to attract private and public investment through clear, bankable sector targets and implementation roadmaps.

“Africa’s climate pledges risk remaining paper promises unless NDCs and LT-LEDS are reworked into bankable, investment-ready pipelines. This paper aims to lighthouse the path to sustainable development,” said SPP President, Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke.

The scoping paper identified common barriers such as misalignment between NDCs and national development plans, weak legal and governance frameworks, a lack of investment-grade sectoral targets, and limited technical and financial capacity to design and deliver bankable projects.

To address these gaps, the paper propose a practical framework for effective NDCs modelling for meeting the ambitious targets centred on five core elements: strong governance structure, alignment with development plans & LT-LEDS, concise sectoral targets, stakeholder engagement and people-centred communication all of which will combine to unlock the investments needed for NDCs implementation.

With COP30 expected to focus on adaptation mechanisms, Africa’s priorities must shift from paper commitments to investment-ready and development-focused climate action that draw private capital and strengthen governance. The scoping paper positions NDCs 3.0 and LT-LEDS as tools not only for emissions reduction targets but for economic transformation – a message expected of African negotiators, finance institutions and national leaders to carry on into Belém.

The report can be downloaded via: https://sppnigeria.org/on-the-road-to-cop30-and-beyond-developing-an-effective-ndcs-lt-leds-to-guide-africas-sustainable-development/

If Nigeria is to win the war against climate change and secure a sustainable future for its citizens, both living and unborn, it must immediately review its current strategy and shift its fight from the glasshouses in Abuja, the country’s capital, where most climate talks are usually held, to the subnational level spread across the various states.

Rainfall patterns in Katsina State, in the northwestern region, have become more unpredictable, leading to the disruption of agricultural cycles and endangering lives and food security. Similar to this, the constant flooding that still dominates the lives of the people in Bayelsa, another state in the South-South part of the nation, has resulted in the displacement of numerous communities.

These are the everyday realities that are taking place all around the country, not predictions from climate theories. The issue of climate change in Nigeria has become urgent, tangible, and deeply localised. Sadly, however, the infrastructure for responding remains heavily centralised, mostly in urban areas.

As Nigeria advances its climate objectives, from updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to implementing the Climate Change Act and detailing a net-zero pathway, one thing becomes increasingly clear: our 36 states hold the key to implementation. A national goal is meaningless if states are structurally underprepared to act.

In order to tackle this issue, the Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) carried out an extensive training needs assessment of climate change desk officers, directors, and focal persons throughout Nigeria. With 48 contributions from 34 states and the FCT, the response was overwhelming and provided the most comprehensive image to date of the capacity gaps impeding successfully implementing climate action at the state level.

From what the states told us in the assessment, three core gaps emerged as top priorities:

1. Accessing and managing climate finance (29 states)
2. Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and reporting skills (28 states)
3. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (MER) for climate projects (25 states)

These aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They are foundational capabilities, essential for designing fundable climate projects, tracking impact, and mainstreaming climate into state policies and budgets.

Respondents also highlighted further areas for support: climate budgeting, carbon markets, digital monitoring tools, stakeholder coordination, gender integration, and effective engagement strategies. This points to a growing awareness among state actors of the complex, interlinked demands of modern climate governance.

Yet, despite this motivation and readiness, many states still face systemic barriers such as

• Underfunded or poorly structured climate desks

• Limited technical capacity, especially on climate finance

• Absence of reliable data systems or over-reliance on external consultants

• Weak integration of climate priorities into broader state planning

This implementation gap, between ambition and ability, undermines Nigeria’s credibility and progress where it matters most.

To move from diagnosis to delivery, as a framework to bridge the gap, the SPP/DCC team is launching a Capacity Building Implementation Framework, a practical roadmap to equip states/climate desk officers with the tools, skills, and support needed to lead local climate action.

But this cannot, and should not, be a standalone effort. Thus, in the Call to Collective Action,

Federal MDAs must:

• Institutionalise annual training and capacity-building for subnational actors

• Provide standardised toolkits, data frameworks, and benchmarking models

Donors and Development Partners must:

• Prioritise state-level technical support in GHG inventory, MER systems, and climate finance.

• Build readiness for Article 6 and results-based climate budgeting

State Governments must:

• Establish and fund dedicated climate change desks

• Mainstream climate into development planning and inter-ministerial coordination

Civil society and academia must:

• Drive peer learning, mentoring, and knowledge exchange

• Co-develop digital tools and community-responsive engagement strategies

The evidence is clear: Nigeria’s states are ready. What they need now is coordinated, sustained, and strategic support. That’s why we propose the creation of a National Subnational Climate Training Compact, a bold, collaborative initiative bringing together public, private, and development partners to ensure every state is equipped to lead climate action from within.

This is because it is not the beautiful glass palaces of Abuja, where most high-level climate talks are conducted, but rather the decisions made and the capacities built in places like Abia, Zamfara, and all points in between that will assure Nigeria’s climate resilience. The time to act is now, and we are all responsible for it.

By Timothy Ogenyi, who leads the SCGPR 2.0 project and coordinates subnational climate governance initiatives for the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP)

The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) has made history by becoming the first environmental NGO in Nigeria to voluntarily publish its 2024 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Report—sending a bold message that climate accountability must begin with those who preach it.

Led by renowned climate scholar Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, SPP’s transparent disclosure stands in sharp contrast to the widespread reluctance of many private organizations to comply with Section 24(1)(a) of the Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021, which mandates annual emissions reduction efforts for entities with over 50 employees. While enforcement remains weak, SPP’s leadership offers a compelling demonstration that self-regulation is not only possible but necessary.

Climate policy expert Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, responding to the development, described the move as “a landmark example of voluntary climate action,” urging institutions—especially advocacy-focused NGOs—to emulate SPP’s introspective approach. He noted that environmental responsibility should never be reduced to mere advocacy without internal reform.

The Climate Change Act’s Section 24(2) empowers the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) to penalize defaulters, yet compliance has remained low due to institutional lapses. SPP’s initiative dismantles the myth that emission reporting is too complex or impractical, instead proving that even non-profits can walk the talk through accurate carbon tracking and open disclosure.

By publishing its emissions data, SPP has set a powerful precedent that aligns with Section 32(a) of the Climate Act, which outlines plans for universal annual GHG reporting across public and private sectors. Oladipo stressed the need for strategic enforcement mechanisms that will nudge lagging institutions into compliance.

Beyond its moral significance, transparent emissions reporting is critical to meeting the Paris Agreement targets. It enables organizations to identify problem areas, set tangible climate goals, and adopt sustainable operational models. SPP’s action has already begun to spark discussions on responsible climate governance across boardrooms and policy circles alike.

With Nigeria facing rising climate threats—from desertification to flooding—the need for genuine, measurable climate action is more urgent than ever. As Prof. Oladipo put it, “SPP has turned climate responsibility from a slogan into a blueprint. Others must now follow.”