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Nigeria - GMP Methane Action Update (September 2024)

Nigeria

In 2021, Nigeria was the first country in the Africa region to express methane abatement ambitions through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Also, as a signatory to the Global Methane Pledge, Nigeria committed to accelerating methane action across all relevant sectors, including oil and gas, agriculture and waste management. As we look forward to revising our NDC next year, Nigeria hopes to increase its methane mitigation ambitions. 

Key actions and achievements to date  

Nigeria joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2012, with the goal of addressing Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs). A National Action Plan (NAP) was developed and endorsed in 2019 with the sole objective of addressing SLCPs, including methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone and HFCs.  Establishing the SLCP NAP enabled implementation of the plan’s 22 SLCP mitigation measures to become core features of Nigeria achieving its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals.  

In its NDC, Nigeria committed to achieving a net-zero target by 2060 — an ambitious goal that was raised from previous goals with the support of the CCAC. The country included an SLCP section with a 60% reduction in fugitive methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 2031, conditional on international support.  

In 2023 the country adopted new Methane Guidelines mandating that companies take swift and effective action in the industry, first by implementing leak detection and repair measures in oil and gas infrastructure. Companies must also start utilizing high destruction efficiency flares to reduce the methane that is vented or leaked. Lastly, companies must implement controls on venting devices or replace them with zero emissions technology.  

Important stakeholder engagement has supported such progress. The National Council on Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment has been working in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC).

For Nigeria, achieving the maximum ambition of its new regulations would reduce methane emissions from flaring by 100% by 2030, and fugitive methane from leaks by 95% 2050.

Nigeria’s current NDC also commits to methane reductions in the waste sector by 10% through institutional expansion and increased “waste to wealth schemes,” which will help eliminate landfills while creating jobs.  

In the agriculture sector, Nigeria, with support from the CCAC, is working to improve its ability to measure emissions and emission reductions, specially through an enhanced national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and systems for measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of mitigation actions in the sector.

Plans for the future

As a Global Methane Pledge (GMP) Champion, Nigeria seeks to demonstrate its future plans and commitments by strengthening domestic methane mitigation efforts through concerted on-ground interventions and by playing a leading role in the regional methane mitigation efforts as appropriate.  

At the domestic level, implementation pathways and future plans will focus on:

  • In the oil and gas sector: financial support and incentives, capacity building and technology transfer, regulatory framework and policy development, carbon capture, utilization, and storage, monitoring, reporting, and verification, as well as international collaboration.
  • In the agriculture sector: research and extension services, access to climate-resilient seeds and improved livestock breeds and feeds, financial support to farmers, public awareness and education, sustainable farming practices, policy development and regulation.
  • In the waste sector: landfill management and methane capture, public awareness and education, data monitoring and reporting as well as waste management funding.