A Legal Framework For Achieving Net-Zero Emissions: Pathways To Energy Sustainability And Environmental Compliance In Nigeria

Abstract

The struggle to achieve net-zero emissions is a unifier that facilitates
cooperation between nations and highlights our shared humanity. Although
fighting climate change requires global efforts, there is a responsibility on
independent states to formulate actionable plans to achieve net-zero emissions
in their respective jurisdictions. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Nigeria
is obligated to strive towards achieving net-zero in the second half of the
twenty-first century. In an audacious move at COP 21, Nigeria declared its
ambition to achieve net-zero by 2060, forty years earlier than the deadline
under the Paris Agreement. To achieve this, the country has enacted laws,
formulated policies and even established a national council comprised of the
highest political leaders in the country to ensure the implementation of
frameworks established to enable the country achieve net-zero in due time.
Using a qualitative research methodology, this study critically examines the
causes of enhanced GHGs which are responsible for climate change, and the
pathway to achieve net-zero. By evaluating the Climate Change Act 2021 and
other relevant legal instruments, the study the current framework for achieving
net-zero, with a view to proposing ways the current legal framework can be
strengthened, to ensure net-zero in Nigeria.