Between Climate Change Narratives and Policy Actions: The Choice of Developing a Sustainable Development Agenda for Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change has been recognized as one of the greatest threats to world security and peace (IPCC, 2007; Okali, 2008). It is also true that efforts are being taken to combat its pernicious effects, however, what is more detectable is that policy outputs in Nigeria have merely translated beyond ‘black and white’ documents to concrete implementable policy actions in addressing climate change hence, this paper attempts to interrogate, howbeit critically, the extent to which existing policy instruments and adaptation strategies on climate change and other environmental challenges have engendered sustainable national development for Nigeria. This study adopts a more disaggregated approach by exploring environmental legislations and climate policies by state institutions. Such a perspective reveals quite interesting nuances in the explanatory power of political variables for policy outcomes. For instance, published records suggest that although there are abundance of policies and laws on climate change, yet, activities to galvanize such policy instruments in bringing about sustainable development are wanting. Also, the paper is structured to include variables from domestic climate change governance in order to obtain a more accurate picture of the causal mechanisms precipitating the Nigeria’s failure to reduce her carbon footprints especially in the last decade. The study prescribes a number of policy recommendations as a guideline in the choice of negotiating an implementable climate policy at the forthcoming COP21 Summit which should ultimately become an innovative and sustainable approach of converting climate change issues to an opportunity for national development.