In a major push toward sustainable development, President Bola Tinubu has announced that Nigeria’s newly finalized Carbon Market Activation Policy is set to unlock $2.5 billion in high-integrity carbon credits and green investments by 2030. The policy, finalized in March 2025, is a key component of the country’s wider energy reform and climate action strategy.

Speaking during a high-level virtual dialogue on climate and the just transition co-hosted by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Tinubu called on world leaders to show “unity, courage, and sustained commitment” in the face of the deepening global climate crisis.

“For Nigeria, the urgency of this moment is clear: we view climate action not as a cost to development, but as a strategic imperative,” he stated.

Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to a paradigm shift where climate action and economic growth work hand-in-hand. He outlined the country’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) as a bold and pragmatic path to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, targeting key sectors such as power, cooking, transportation, oil and gas, and industry. The plan requires over $410 billion in financing to meet its ambitious targets.

Nigeria’s energy reforms, according to the President, are built on three pillars: energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness. He highlighted efforts to align the country’s regulatory, fiscal, and institutional frameworks to support these goals, emphasizing Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa’s energy transformation.

Tinubu also spotlighted Nigeria’s anchor role in the Mission 300 initiative, in partnership with the World Bank and African Development Bank, which aims to electrify 300 million Africans by 2030.

He cited the National Energy Compact, presented earlier this year, as a model for African nations. The compact outlines concrete investment opportunities, policy reforms, and measurable goals for expanding clean energy and cooking access across Nigeria.

“We are, therefore, in the process of aligning our regulatory environment, fiscal incentives, and institutional frameworks to ensure that energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness proceed in lockstep. We are also taking leadership on Energy Access,” Tinubu said.

As part of Nigeria’s evolving climate strategy, the country is currently updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with a comprehensive revision due by September 2025.

Looking ahead, the President revealed plans for a Global Climate Change Investment Fund to attract climate-smart capital. This fund will blend public and private investment to finance green industrial hubs, e-mobility, regenerative agriculture, and renewable mini-grids for underserved communities.

Tinubu thanked international partners, including the United Nations and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), for their support, describing the collaborations as proof of the power of multilateral cooperation in addressing the climate emergency.

“The time for climate action is not tomorrow; it is now,” he concluded, signaling Nigeria’s readiness to lead Africa’s green future.