Establishment of The National Council on Climate Change:
The CCA 20211 established the National Council on Climate Change (the "Council") which is a body corporate vested with the powers to develop policies and make decisions on all matters pertaining to climate change in Nigeria. The Council is also required to manage the implementation of the provisions of the CCA 2021.
The membership of the Council includes members of the various ministries and departments of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Additionally, the CCA 20212 provides that the Council is further required to make room for representatives from the private sector on climate change, environment-related matters, gender based representatives (women), age-based (youth), as well as persons with disabilities, who will be nominated by their most representative registered national umbrella association.
Establishment of the Secretariat of the National Council on Climate Change.
As a measure to check and balance the excesses of the Council, the CCA 20213 establishes a Secretariat to handle the administrative, scientific, and technical functions of the Council and a Director-General of the Secretariat who will oversee the administration of the Council. The secretariat is mandated to keep proper accounts and records of the National Council's income and expenditure4, submit a comprehensive report of all the activities of the Secretariat, and prepare a statement of account in respect of each financial year. The accounts of the Council are to be audited within six (6) months after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate, and the accounts are to be audited in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Auditor General for the Federation. Notably, the CCA also permits the Council to accept gifts of land, money, or other property on such terms and conditions, as may be specified by the person or organisation making the gift, which shall be taken into account by the secretariat. However, these conditions must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the law and any other relevant policies.
Introduction of Climate Change Fund and Carbon Tax
The CCA 20215 introduced a climate change fund into which shall be used for the operation and administration of the National Council and other offices established under it. The CCA 2021 further mandates the Council to develop a mechanism for imposing a carbon tax in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service ("FIRS"), and to coordinate the implementation of sectoral targets and guidelines for the regulation of Green House Gas ("GHG") emissions and other anthropogenic causes of climate change.
The Climate Change Fund:
The CCA makes provisions for the Climate Change Fund (the Fund)6 to be administered by the Council, as a depository of funds earmarked by the National Assembly for the running of the Council. Sources for the Climate Change Fund include grants from international organisations; fines, and charges from private and public entities in default of the climate change mitigation/ adaptation obligations; carbon tax, and emissions trading remittances, etc. Notably, the CCA7 also permits the Council to accept gifts of land, money, or other property on such terms and conditions, as may be specified by the entity making the gift, such gifts shall be deposited into the Fund.
Before the enactment of the CCA 2021, most climate related projects sought funding from foreign sources which became a hindrance to the implementation of sector policies/initiatives. The establishment of the Fund creates a framework to support the influx of climate change mitigation finance by way of donations, grants, and investment from international and indigenous organisations towards tackling the climate crisis. The Fund is to be applied towards8: the cost of administration of the Council, payments of emoluments, allowances, and benefits of members and staff of the Council; climate change advocacy and information dissemination; funding innovative climate change mitigation and adaptation projects; conducting assessments of climate change impact on vulnerable communities and population; incentivizing entities for their efforts toward transiting to clean energy and sustaining a reduction in GHG emissions; etc. Hence, the establishment of the Fund creates a financial pool to fund public and private sector initiatives towards ensuring green energy transition and achieving the nation's net-zero emissions target.
Carbon Budget
The CCA 20219, provides for a national carbon budget, thus, mandating the Federal Ministries of Environment and National Planning to set a carbon budget (which means the approved quantity of GHG emission that is acceptable over a specified time), the budgetary period for Nigeria and to periodically revise the carbon budget in line with Nigeria's nationally determined contributions (NDC's) in order to comply with international obligations. The goal of the carbon budget is to keep the average increase in global temperature within 2 degrees Celsius and make a concerted effort to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under the CCA it is further provided that within 12 (twelve) months to the end of a carbon budgeted period, the Federal Ministry of Environment ("the Ministry") is required to submit to the Federal Executive Council ("FEC"), through the National Council, a new carbon budget for approval. Where, however, there is a need to review a carbon budget within a carbon budget cycle, the Ministry shall, within 3 (three) months of the revision of the carbon budget, submit it to the FEC through the Council for approval. The Ministry shall also be responsible for publishing guidelines for the measurement, reporting, and verification of national emissions that will serve as the basis for setting and annually reviewing the carbon budget.
National Climate Change Action Plan
Under the CCA 2021, the Secretariat, in consultation with the Ministry and the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, was mandated to formulate a National Climate Change Action Plan ("Action Plan") every five years, the first of which is to be produced within 12 (twelve) months from the commencement of the CCA 2021 (which has been formulated/published, and for the purposes of this article is highlighted hereunder10). The CCA makes provisions for the process through which the Action Plan is to be formulated. The process includes consultation with the public for a period not less than 8 (eight) weeks ending 14 (fourteen) days before the presentation of the Action Plan to the Council for approval.
The Action Plan11 shall serve as a basis for establishing national goals, objectives, and priorities on climate adaptation and, for identifying activities to ensure that the national emissions profile is consistent with the carbon budget goals. The Action Plan shall also prescribe measures and mechanisms for, among other things;
(a) identifying actions for adaptation and mitigation against climate change;
(b) identifying strategic areas of national infrastructure requiring climate-proofing;
(c) enhancing energy conservation, efficiency, and use of renewable energy in industrial, commercial, transport, domestic and other uses; and
(d) achieving Nigeria's climate change goals.
The CCA also provides for the components of the Action Plan, some of which include an articulated carbon budget for the five-year cycle and for each of the years in the five-year cycle, details on the level of compliance with international climate commitments, past and current, the projected greenhouse gases (GHG) emission profile of GHG emitting sectors of the economy, and incentives for private and public entities that achieve GHG emission reduction.
Additionally, the Director-General of the Secretariat is also required to submit a detailed report on the state of the nation regarding climate change to the Council and the National Assembly Committee on Climate Change[18]. This report shall be submitted for each five year cycle and shall include, information on the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan, the extent to which the GHG emission profile is consistent with the annual carbon budget, identification of the vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change, assessment and management of risks/vulnerability, and fines issued against private and public entities for non-compliance with the provisions of the CCA. The Director-General[19] is also required to submit to the National Assembly, within 3 (three) months after the end of every financial year, an evaluation report on the performance of climate change duties by private and public entities.
Footnotes
1 S.5 (r)-(u) 2021 CCA 2021
2 S.7 CCA 2021 (Part III - Administration and Control of The National Council On Climate Change)
3 S. 16 CCA 202
4 S. 15 CCA 202
5 Section 15 (Part IV; Financial Provisions) CCA 2021
6 Section 18 ibid
7 Section 15(2) ibid
8 Section 19 ibi
9 https://climatechange.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NCCP_NIGERIA_REVISED_2 JUNE-2021.pdf
10 Section 20 (4) CCA 2021
11 Section 21 ibid
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