In 2021, Nigeria made a pledge to reach net zero by 2060 but two-thirds — 42 out of 62 — of the oil companies in Nigeria audited by the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) had no concrete climate plans in 2023, FIJ can report.

This was disclosed in the 2023 oil audit report published by NEITI on Friday.

Muhammadu Buhari, the former Nigerian president, had promised Nigerians and the entire world that the country was striving towards this 2060 ideal. Kashim Shettima, the vice president of Nigeria, has also been reported to reiterate this commitment on multiple occasions.

But NEITI, known for pushing transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, audited that only 20 (32%) out of the 62 companies surveyed had climate policies in place. The rest, 42 companies, were cruising without a climate plan, leaving Nigeria’s green goals hanging by a thread.

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“Twenty companies have policies on climate change while 42 companies said ‘not avaliable’. This implies that there is the need for more engagement with companies on the need to align their companies’ policies to the national policy on climate change,” the report had stated.

The report also pointed out that 47 out of the 62 companies did not produce records of their greenhouse emissions throughout their operations in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.

Per the available data, Nigeria generates a significant 492.44 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). This is about 1.01% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Oil production alone accounted for about 27% of Nigeria’s gas emissions.

Similarly, the Natural Resource Governance Institute reported that emissions caused by gas flaring activities increased from 103.51 kilotonnes (kt) in 2022 to 215.22 kt in 2023.

While, in reality, Nigeria’s greenhouse emissions contributions may not be as heavy as other oil-producing countries, the country is one of the hardest hit by climate change and related consequences. In 2024 alone, over 800,000 people across 29 Nigerian states have been affected by devastating floods, according to a report published by the United Nations.

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In 2022, FIJ reported on how flooding had returned a once-flourishing community in Delta State to the Stone Age, ravaging it of infrastructure, houses, and lives.

Meanwhile, part of the efforts the country had made towards climate cleanliness in 2021 was to establish the National Council on Climate Change and sign the Climate Change Act into law.

Section 24 Subsection 2 of the Climate Change Act mandates all private entities with more than 50 employees to put plans in place to achieve the annual carbon emission reduction targets.

Companies in this category are also mandated to have sustainability officers who shall submit climate adaptation and carbon reduction plans to the government.