During COP28, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu revealed the formation of a committee dedicated to drawing up a national strategy for the carbon market. This development represents a significant step forward for Nigeria, a country that was making slow progress in establishing a framework for carbon markets. The committee is responsible for creating an emissions trading system, a carbon registry and high-integrity carbon credits, integrated into the global voluntary carbon market.
Economic Opportunities of the Carbon Market for Nigeria
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, highlighted a $2.5 billion opportunity for Nigeria in African carbon markets at the climate talks. This perspective offers a path to sustainable development for Nigeria, while contributing to the global fight against climate change.
Nigeria’s Contribution to the African Carbon Market
The African Carbon Markets initiative, launched at COP27 in Egypt, seeks to harness Africa’s potential in the production of carbon credits. Countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Nigeria and Togo are already working with ACMI to increase carbon credit production through voluntary carbon market activation schemes.
Financing Needed for Nigeria’s Climate Strategy
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, Nigeria needs substantial funding. According to Ogunbiyi, this represents a total of $1.9 trillion by 2060. Carbon markets and taxes provide a source of revenue for governments to finance climate policies.
Global context of carbon markets
The global carbon market, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, has been valued at $750 billion by 2022. The global voluntary carbon market is expected to reach $40 billion by 2030, demonstrating the growing importance of these markets in global climate strategy.
Nigeria’s national carbon market strategy is an important step in the country’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It underlines the importance of carbon markets in the global climate strategy, and the essential role of Nigeria and other African countries in this field.