Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law

(Climate Home News, 22 Nov 2021) Nigeria has become the first major developing country to commit to set annual carbon budgets to plot its path to cutting emissions to net zero.

After announcing a 2060 net zero target at the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow, president Muhammadu Buhari signed into law a climate bill committing his government to produce a sweeping plan to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change and set annual and five-year carbon budgets.

Chukwumerije Okereke, a professor in environment and development at Reading University who helped revise the climate bill, told Climate Home News: “This is the biggest thing that has happened in Nigeria with regards to climate governance”.

The bill’s sponsor Sam Onuigbo told Climate Home he had been trying to pass a climate bill for more than ten years. Okereke said support from environment minister Sharon Ikeazor and momentum from the Cop26 conference helped push the text over the line.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s biggest oil producer.

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Climate Home News, 22 Nov 2021: Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law