Introduction

Nigeria is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world even though its contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is minimal. The country is vulnerable due to its complex agroecological zones, burgeoning urban and rural populations, extensive coastlines which is susceptible to sea level rise, and weak climate governance systems.

With its significant impact on health, food security, livelihood, and economic development, climate change is emerging as a hot topic in Nigeria, increasingly featuring in national discussions and political debates. The Nigerian government is committed to achieving net zero by 2060 and has initiated some projects at different levels to facilitate the process.

While there have been a growing awareness and an increase in climate change initiatives at the federal level, climate activities at the state level have not received as much attention.

The current situation calls for an improved climate change governance landscape in Nigeria in which policies and initiatives will be properly and vertically integrated for implementation among the Federal, state and Local Government actors with well-defined roles and responsibilities.

In light of the above, in 2023, the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) in close collaboration with the Department of Climate Change (DCC), Federal Ministry of Environment (FMoE), and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) concluded a highly successful project that built an evidence base to promote climate awareness and action at subnational levels in Nigeria. The project provided a mapping of climate governance in Nigeria covering climate impact, the extent of climate change awareness, online visibility; and existence of climate change policies and action plans, among others.

This single climate governance ranking project builds on the previous mapping project further incorporating a few additional internationally recognized criteria for measuring the quality of climate governance at subnational levels.

The project is implemented as a follow-up to the first step to spur awareness for climate action at subnational levels in Nigeria and ensure improved climate change action and resilience among state actors.