President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that Nigeria’s newly finalised Carbon Market Activation Policy is poised to unlock up to $2.5 billion in high-integrity carbon credits and associated investments by the year 2030, positioning the country as a hub for climate-smart finance on the African continent.
Tinubu disclosed this on Wednesday in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, during a high-level virtual dialogue on climate and the just transition, co-hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ahead of COP30 to be hosted by Brazil.
The statement reads in part, “As part of the broader energy reforms architecture, President Tinubu announced the finalisation of the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Policy in March 2025. This policy will unlock up to $2.5 billion by 2030 in high-integrity carbon credits and related investments.”
This policy is backed by Nigeria’s commitment to updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with a comprehensive revision due by September 2025, aligned with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The dialogue brought together leaders from 17 countries, spanning climate-vulnerable nations, regional blocs including the African Union, ASEAN, and the Alliance of Small Island States, as well as major players like China and the European Union.
The objective: to inject fresh political will into the global climate agenda ahead of the next major climate summit.
Climate Action as Strategic Imperative
Delivering remarks from Abuja, President Tinubu underscored Nigeria’s belief that climate action and economic growth must go hand in hand.
“The global climate emergency demands our collective, courageous, and sustained leadership. For Nigeria, the urgency of this moment is clear: we view climate action not as a cost to development, but as a strategic imperative,” President Tinubu noted.
He further highlighted Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) as a pragmatic roadmap towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, targeting five key sectors—power, cooking, transportation, oil and gas, and industry—and requiring an estimated $410 billion in investment by the target date.
To make the ETP feasible, Tinubu said the government is aligning regulatory frameworks, providing fiscal incentives, and institutional restructuring to enable simultaneous progress in energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness.
He also spotlighted Nigeria’s role as an anchor country in the Mission 300 initiative, a partnership with the World Bank and African Development Bank aimed at electrifying 300 million Africans by 2030.
Climate Financing and Investment Platform
Beyond the regulatory environment, Tinubu disclosed plans to launch a Global Climate Change Investment Fund, a mechanism to blend public and private capital, de-risk green infrastructure, and finance scalable clean energy solutions.
The fund is expected to support key sectors including:
- Green industrial hubs
- E-mobility infrastructure
- Renewable energy mini-grids for underserved communities
- Regenerative agriculture
This aligns with Nigeria’s National Energy Compact, which sets clear targets to expand clean energy access and improve clean cooking adoption.
Tinubu expressed appreciation to international partners, especially the United Nations and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), for providing critical advisory and technical support during the development of Nigeria’s energy and climate frameworks.
