How serious is Nigeria about climate change mitigation through gas flaring regulation in the Niger Delta?

Abstract

Nigeria currently contributes significantly to the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced in Africa through unabated emissions from its oil and gas industry in the Niger Delta, making the country an important player in global climate change mitigation efforts. Gas flaring is the major medium by which Nigeria contributes to the global percentage of deleterious GHGs released into the atmosphere. Therefore, regulatory efforts at the cessation of gas flaring in the country is important within the wider context of global climate change mitigation, and is worthy of analysis. The recent ‘code red’ warning by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about the clear and present danger unmitigated climate change currently poses to the planet, together with Nigeria's recent pledge at COP26 to eliminate GHG emissions by 2060, makes this analysis even more necessary. Accordingly, this article generally assesses the efforts of Nigeria at eliminating gas flaring within the context of its international commitments on battling climate change. The first part of the article explores the history and current status of gas flaring in Nigeria. The second part critically analyses the guiding policy, regulatory, legislative, and judicial efforts at ending gas flaring in Nigeria with the view to determining the seriousness of the country in domestically matching its international commitments towards mitigating climate change through the phasing out of GHG emissions.