Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 Macroeconomic Policies: Are They Climate Change Friendly?

The document evaluates Nigeria's macroeconomic recovery strategies following the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing their compatibility with the nation's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. While the National Development Plan (NDP) and Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) include green initiatives—such as solar electrification and climate-smart agriculture—the author notes a lack of clear implementation tracking and a persistent reliance on oil-led growth. The brief recommends removing fossil fuel subsidies, expanding blended finance, and prioritizing gender-responsive climate-smart agriculture to ensure a sustainable green recovery.

• Nigeria's economic model is heavily dependent on the oil sector, which accounts for 80% of government revenue, 90% of total exports, and 95% of foreign exchange earnings, creating a complex dilemma for achieving a green transformation.
• Nigeria's greenhouse gas emissions have increased significantly, rising by 271.6% from 1990 to 2018, with the energy sector currently responsible for 60% of total emissions.
• The Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) contains a mix of climate-friendly and neutral policies, including the installation of solar home systems for up to 5 million households and a $572 million investment in solar power electrification, though it lacks clear mechanisms for tracking implementation.
• The National Development Plan (2021–2025) identifies the green economy as one of five megatrends and sets specific targets for 2023, including restoring 13,892ha of degraded land and planting over 12 million trees.
• Nigeria has utilized sovereign green bonds to fund renewable energy, including a 2019 facility of NGN 10.6 billion ($25 million) for projects such as the Re-Energising Education Programme and the Afforestation Programme.
• The Climate Change Bill passed in November 2021 establishes a legal target for net-zero emissions by 2050 and introduces five-year carbon budgets to be managed by the National Council on Climate Change.
• The Russia–Ukraine war has created conflicting pressures: it has re-energized oil production due to global demand but has also raised concerns that donor countries may reduce climate financing in favor of defense spending.

APA

Olawale, T. (n.d.). Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 Macroeconomic Policies: Are They Climate Change Friendly? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_19_EvaluationNigeriaPostCovid.pdf

Chicago

Olawale, Tikristini. Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 Macroeconomic Policies: Are They Climate Change Friendly? South African Institute of International Affairs, n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_19_EvaluationNigeriaPostCovid.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Olawale |first1=Tikristini |title=Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 Macroeconomic Policies: Are They Climate Change Friendly? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_19_EvaluationNigeriaPostCovid.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{olawalendnigerias, author = {Olawale, Tikristini}, title = {{Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 Macroeconomic Policies: Are They Climate Change Friendly?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_19_EvaluationNigeriaPostCovid.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }