NIGERIA AND THE QUESTION OF CLIMATE JUSTICE 1 Anthony Ikechukwu Kanu, OSA Abstract The world has witnessed series of natural disasters that are driven by climate change, and in most cases, the result of anthropogenic activities. Nigeria, alongside other countries of the world, faces the threatening consequences of climate change and other forms of environmental degradation. This paper, which takes the form of a case study, is a response to the question of the general level context of Nigeria's struggle with the challenges of climate change. It has analyzed Nigeria's Natio nally Determined Contributions (NDC) through the lens of climate justice, considering the wider policy frameworks at the national level. It, therefore, touched on the national effort towards keeping 1.5C alive, transition to green energy, the provision for food sovereignty, the capacity of the government to nance for mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages, and nally, the promotion and protection of the roles and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in the preservation of biodiversity. This paper applied a hybrid methodology, which includes collection of data from national and international sources, and from the empirical research of Nigerian scholars. These were analyzed critically and presented thematically. It submits that, while the Nigerian state is doing her own bit in the direction of climate justice, there is still much to be done, which require more national commitment and international collaboration. Keywords: Nigeria, Climate Change, Justice, Environment, Biodiversity I. Introduction Climate change constitutes one of the greatest threats not only to human existence but to sustainable human development. It is globally agreed to be real and caused by both natural and anthropogenic 2 factors . This report, however, focuses more on anthropogenic activities in Nigeria that are bringing about variable rainfall, episodic ooding, drought, desertication in some parts of the country, 3abnormal rise in sea levels, land degradation, etc , and the broad question of Nigeria's efforts towards adapting to and mitigating climate change. Nigeria is located in West Africa, having a total area ndof 356,669 sq mi, making it the 32 largest country in the world. It is bordered in the north by Niger, in the east by Chad and Cameroon, in the South by the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean and the West by 4 the Republic of Benin . As a result of anthropogenic activities, it has been observed that the Green House Gasses (GHG) have been rising since the Industrial Revolution. This comes from Fossil Fuel that produces 5 carbon dioxide (CO2) , which constitutes two-third of the 6greenhouse gasses . The recognition of this threat led to several conferences and bilateral agreements with commitment from states to deal with the causative factors. This report focuses on Nigeria's commitment to this global vision and effort. It will report on Nigeria's effort towards keeping 1.5C alive, transition to clean energy, food sovereignty within the context of climate change, nancing for mitigation and the contribution of indigenous approaches to the conservation of biodiversity. II. Nigeria and the 1.5C Commitment 7 thAt the Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow on 13 November 2021, the nearly 200 countries in attendance including Nigeria, had a climate pact in which they agreed to limit temperature rises to 1.5C and revisit and strengthen their current emissions targets 8to 2020 known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) . The progress on this will be determined by a yearly round table report 9on global progress . The credentials of Nigeria in relation to domesticating international agreements is quite impressive. Apart from being a 2 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022 party to the UNFCCC in 1994, ratifying the Kyoto Protocol in 2004 and implementing the requirements of the protocols and agreements which includes setting up administrative machinery and 10implementing associated projects , Nigeria, following the agreement at COP26, has signed the Climate Change Bill into law with the hope of developing adaptation and mitigation plans. However, there are several factors that affect the translation of these plans into action. The rst is the absence of an accurate data due to poor technology systems and adequate commitment to 11reporting current emission level . This is further compounded by a weak legislation that is necessary for ensuring increment of climate- 12 friendly activity . The approval of the Petroleum Industrial Bill by the federal government, which will attract new investments into oil and gas is not in line with the Paris agreement, and thus not a good sign. Another difculty is the inability of the Nigerian government to diversify its economy from an entire dependence on non- 13 renewable fossil energy . There is also the factor of lack of community ownership of the project as a result of a poor commitment on the part of the government to work closely with local 14communities, civil societies, stakeholders and developing partners . This is not unconnected with the poor coordination among federal government's ministries and agencies which shows that climate 15 change is not currently mainstreamed into policy plans and targets . The amount allocated to climate change related matters in the budget 16 is not strong enough for an effective positive action . More so, the plan of the country to expand its domestic, regional and export gas markets, the plan to revive its coal domestic production through the 2018 National Energy Policy, poor reliable electricity grid that makes citizens spend much on generators, shows indices of dilemma that is at odd with Nigeria's resolve to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2030 and 47% conditionally on international 17support . III. Transition to Clean Energy There is a global emphasis on the need for transitioning from the present energy system dominated by fossil fuel to green energy. In 3Nigeria and The Question of Climate Justice this regard, Nigeria has met the requirements for participating in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects (tasked with the 18 responsibility of reducing GHG emissions) . In 2006, Nigeria established a Designated National Authority (DNA) tasked with the evaluation, endorsement and approval of CDM projects based on national sustainable development criteria, tracking CMD projects 19 and giving UNFCCC an annual report . The Nigeria's Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Environment has at least eleven CDM and six national/regional projects under the Program of Activities (POA). Through this, she had recorded notable emission reductions, for instance, from 2015 to 2021, Nigeria has recorded annual emission reduction of 6,967 gigagram and 215 gigagram 20respectively . Nigeria has consistently made submission of reports in this regard in 2003 and 2014 to UNFCCC. Going by to the 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report, Nigeria has improved in reducing gas aring. This is also seen when viewed against the report of gas aring in 1991 which was at 4% (13% of the world's total volume of ared gas) with Nigeria as second after Russia. It is hoped that if the country works on her inefcient methods of exploiting its non-renewable energy resources and the survival strategies adopted by its teaming population, it will further drop below the rst 10 countries. Table 1: Gas aring volumes 2016-2020 (billion cubic meters) No Countries 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Changes from 2019-2020 1 Russia 22.37 19.92 21.28 23.21 24.88 1.66 2 Iraq 17.73 17.84 17.82 17.91 17.37 -0.54 3 Iran 16.41 17.67 17.28 13.78 13.26 -0.52 4 USA 8.86 9.48 14.07 17.29 11.81 -5.49 5 Algeria 9.10 8.80 9.01 9.34 9.32 -0.02 6 Venezuela 9.35 7.00 8.22 9.54 8.59 -0.95 7 Nigeria 7.31 7.65 7.44 7.83 7.20 -0.63 8 Mexico 4.78 3.79 3.89 4.48 5.77 1.28 9 China 1.96 1.56 1.82 2.02 2.72 0.70 10 Oman 2.82 2.60 2.54 2.63 2.52 -0.11 21 22 23 24 Source: NOAA , Payne Institute and Colorado School of Mines , GGFR 4 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022 According to the 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report, Nigeria thranks 7 among the 10 countries with highest gas aring who contribute 75 percent of the world's gas aring. Ahead of Nigeria are Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria. The three countries behind Nigeria include: Mexico, Libya, and China. Although the country has remained in the top seven aring countries, it has nonetheless steadily reduced its aring: flaring has declined from over 25 bcm in 2000 to close to 7 bcm in 2020, while oil production has remained essentially at at around 2 million barrels a day. These notwithstanding, the commitment of Nigeria is heavy at the level of policies and agreements without sufcient action 25towards implementation . A major aw in the CDM and POA projects, according to Nwozor, is their lack of effort towards 26developing the green energy potentials of Nigeria . There is also the problem of incapacity of Nigeria to put in place sufcient technologies to ensure the achievement of national targets on green 27 renewable energy . At the moment, there are efforts towards expanding the country's hydorcarbon reserves, the use of inorganic fertilizer is still very high, the improper disposal of industrial wastes are seen in most major cities. These notwithstanding, the policies of the country emphasizes its commitment towards mainstreaming renewable 28 energy in line with global aspirations . Given the rising population and decit in development, Nigeria will require international support to translate these policies into action as she is still far from achieving her target of transition to green energy by 2030. IV. Food Sovereignty and Changing Climate Nigeria has consistently made efforts towards food sufciency in the 29past . These attempts, however, have done very little to address the underlying causes of declining agricultural capacity. In 2018, an estimated 25 million Nigerians were undernourished. This is up by 180% given the records of the previous decade. Out of an annual demand for wheat of 3 million tons, only about 100,000 are produced in the country. This is based on poor nancial aid to farmers, extreme temperatures and unpredictable precipitation patterns, recent Jihadist 5Nigeria and The Question of Climate Justice insurgency and its offshoots in the North Eastern and North Western parts of the country already experiencing decline in agricultural production by almost 55%, poor mechanized system of farming, dependence on rain for agriculture or on the natural weather 30conditions of localities , increased desert encroachment in the northern part of the country, erosion, ood, environmental 31 32degradation in the southern part of the country , poor storage and 33 huge increase in population growth . From the data reported by the Global Food Security Ranking thin 2022, Nigeria ranks the 97 county out of the 113 countries on record. Table 2: 2021 Global Food Security Ranking No. Country Year Trends 1 Nigeria 2012 39.0 2 Nigeria 2013 2.1 3 Nigeria 2014 -1.6 4 Nigeria 2015 1.4 5 Nigeria 2016 1.5 6 Nigeria 2017 -0.5 7 Nigeria 2018 -1.4 8 Nigeria 2019 2.1 9 Nigeria 2020 1.4 10 Nigeria 2021 0.1 34Source: GFSR 2021 Even though the overall trend is positive at +2.3, it is still not enough to ensure food security. In fact, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture 35 lamented that 65% of the population of Nigeria is food insecure . With Nigeria's population projected to double by 2050 to 400 36 million , the country lives with a catastrophy in view. V. Climate Finances The challenges that come with climate change require nances to 37 tackle . Unfortunately, most developing countries like Nigeria do not 6 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022 38 have enough nances to tackle the challenges of climate change . More so, the World Bank formerly expects a nancial cost of 10-40 billion dollars annually for developing countries, and currently 140- 39300 billion dollars annually . This posses a serious challenge to countries like Nigeria. Table 3: Aggregate budget expenditures for adaptation (2013–2020) NO. Year Total Naira Share of Total adaptation budget Share of adaptation budget to GDP 1 2013 10,753,404,222 34.05% 0.0168% 2 2014 2,591,421,756 8.20% 0.0038% 3 2015 238,646,377 0.76% 0.0003% 4 2016 1,786,363,620 5.66% 0.0026% 5 2017 6,122,821,038 19.39% 0.0088% 6 2018 1,099,037,404 3.48% 0.0016% 7 2019 4,986,075,679 15.79% 0.0069% 8 2020 4,006,552,629 12.69% 0.0057% Total 31,584,322,725 40 Source: Oyimadu and Uche 2021 From the foregoing budgetary allocation for tackling climate change and the nancial allocation expected by the World Bank, it is obvious that many developing economies like Nigeria cannot deal with the issue of climate change without external aid. This explains why a major source of the ow of nancial resources for adaptation mostly comes from developed countries. However, most times, the requirements for accessing these international sources of funds require stringent conditions. This notwithstanding, from the dimension of funding, Nigeria cannot fund the adaptation of climate change alone and will, therefore, require external assistance from developed economies and Non-Governmental Organizations. 7Nigeria and The Question of Climate Justice VI. Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity Conservation Indigenous knowledge systems are a signicant resource which contribute greatly towards increased efciency, effectiveness and sustainability of the environment. So far, the major way through which the Nigerian government promotes and accounts for the roles and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities is through representation in governance through the local heads of communities and villages. Through them, the voices of the local people are heard, and through through them the government communicates with them in the language that they understand better. Regarding the contributions of indigenous knowledge systems to the preservation of the environment, the following are notable: I. their conceptualization of nature as mother, source of life, nourisher, supporter and teacher, brings a new perspective to the 41understanding of nature . II. motherhood also introduces the concepts of respect, love, care, empathy, support, patience, etc., which are indispensable for the 42promotion of the good health of the environment . III. the understanding of nature as manifestations of great spirits, means that they are not just considered as things or properties. 43 They are spiritual personalities deserving of respect and care . IV. traditional rites, rituals and festivals become become opportunities for the renewal of nature, as in the case of planting 44of trees . V. the environment is understood as a part of the human world. Its destruction would have direct consequences on the health of the 45 human person . In view of the necessary roles of indigenous peoples in the preservation of the environment, there is need for the government to recognize their role in conservation, and thus, include them in discussions about climate change. They need to be given the opportunity to speak for themselves. VII. Conclusion Nigeria as a country is currently experiencing the severe 8 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022 consequences of the mismanagement of the environment, which is 46posing a serious threat our collective existence . In the face of the foregoing, Chiras avers that: “Together, the problems of overpopulation, depletion, and pollution have created an ecological crisis – a threat to the integrity of natural systems of which humans 47are part, and, therefore, a threat to the survival of human life” . The present report is a contribution to knowledge in the form of a case study as it focuses on Nigeria's experience and efforts toward dealing with the challenges of climate change. It analyzed Nigeria's Nationally Determined Contributions through the lens of climate justice, considering the wider policy frameworks at the national level This piece remains a very signicant contribution to studies in climate change, and its speciality and focus on the Nigerian state has allowed for a broader study that gives a peculiar picture of the situation of climate justice in Nigeria. It strongly believes that while the Nigerian state has committed in the direction of climate justice, there is still much to be done. Climate justice will be achievable if the government gives it the consideration due to it. This effort, however, will remain insufcient without the interventions of developed economies and Non-governmental Organizations. . 1 Ikechukwu Anthony KANU, OSA is a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine, Province of Nigeria. He is a Professor of African Philosophy and Religion at Tansian University, and also an adjunct to the University of Jos; Veritas University, Abuja; St Albert the Great Major Seminary, Abeokuta and the Augustinian Institute, Makurdi. He is also the President of the Association for the Promotion of African Studies. 2 Intergovernmental panel on climate change 2013: The physical science basis working group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 3 Haider, H., Climate change in Nigeria: Impacts and responses. K4D Help. Rep. pp. 1-38, 2019 4 Ade Ajayi, J.F.; Kirk-Greene, A.H.M.; Udo, R.K.; Falola, T.O. Nigeria. 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All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements. 8 Nationally Determined Contribution is a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Each Party to the Paris Agreement is required to establish an NDC and update it every ve years. 9 Yinka Okeowo, COP26 keeps 1.5C alive and nalises Paris Agreement: Nigeria introduces Climate Change Bill. TechEconomy. https://techeconomy.ng/2021/11/cop26-keeps-1-5c-alive-and- nalises-paris-agreement-nigeria-introduces-climate-change- bill.2021 10 Nwozor, A. Transition to green energy and sustainable development in Nigeria: A perspective and evaluative analysis. 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Maryland, USA: Association for the Promotion of African Studies, 2012, pp. 1-22 42 Kanu, I. A., Ala deity and environmental sustainability. In I. A. Kanu (Ed.). African eco-theology: Meaning, forms and expressions. Maryland, USA: Association for the Promotion of African Studies, 2012, pp. 109-122; Kanu, I. A. , African eco-philosophy: Nature and foundations. In I. A. Kanu (Ed.). African eco-philosophy: Cosmology, consciousness and the environment. Maryland, USA: Association for the Promotion of African Studies, 2012, pp. 1-18. 43 Kanu, I. A., Ecological signicance of Mmuo Mmiri (Water Spirit) in Igbo Philosophy and Religion. In I. A. Kanu (Ed.). African eco- philosophy: Cosmology, consciousness and the environment. Maryland, USA: Association for the Promotion of African Studies, 2012, pp. 31-42; Kanu, I. A., Igbo-African market days and the conservation of the eco-system. In I. A. Kanu (Ed.). 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A., Igbo-African Eco-Spirituality: An Indigenous Response To Modern Ecological Crisis. A paper presented at the Inaugural Conference organized by Harvard University on Ecological th thSpiritualities, from April 27 – 30 , 2022, p.3 47 Chiras, D.D., Environmental Science: A framework for decision- making. London: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1985, p. 5 14 Ekpoma Review, Volume 9, 2022