The Osun state government has called on the 35 states of the federation to urgently adopt and domesticate the federal government’s newly approved National Carbon Market and Carbon Investment Framework.
The Osun government warned that states that fail to align their policies with the national climate agenda risk losing billions of naira in potential carbon revenue and missing out on investments that could accelerate clean energy development, climate adaptation, and economic growth.
The government, through its Director-General and Special Envoy of the Governor of Osun State on Climate Change and Renewable Energy, Professor Chinwe Obuaku-Igwe, in a statement on Wednesday, recommended that states must pass a State Climate Policy and domesticate the Climate Change Act (2021).
She noted that the approval signalled federal government readiness to unlock carbon finance as a legitimate engine for growth, resilience, and sustainability.
“This new carbon investment framework will remain an elegant federal document unless sub-national governments seize the moment and create the policies, institutions, and safeguards required to translate national ambition into local impact.
“We (states) celebrate federal approval, but fail to build the state-level systems that make implementation possible. The climate crisis and the opportunity of carbon finance demand that we change this pattern.
“The approval of a national carbon framework opens the door to billions of dollars in potential carbon revenue. Properly managed, it could finance adaptation projects, restore degraded ecosystems, electrify transport, modernize agriculture, and support clean energy expansion across the country.
Prof Obuaku-Igwe held that, “States that act now will win; states that hesitate will watch opportunities move elsewhere. States control the very sectors that define our carbon footprint and resilience capacity, including land-use and forestry; Agriculture and food systems; urban planning and building codes; Waste management; Transport systems; Local energy access and Community development.”
She added, “Sub-national governments must avoid the temptation to treat carbon revenue as windfall income. Carbon markets punish shortcuts: poor baselines, weak social safeguards, coerced community consent, and opaque revenue use can all result in project reversal, market rejection, or even blacklisting.
“States must design robust governance systems now, not as an afterthought, to avoid repeating the mistakes seen in other developing countries where poorly managed carbon projects collapsed amid scandal.
“The approval of the carbon investment framework is historic, but history will judge us on whether Nigeria can turn policy into practice. If states rise to the moment with seriousness, transparency, and innovation, we could witness one of the largest climate-driven development transformations in Africa. The time for decisive sub-national action is now.”
