The Political Economy of Climate Change in Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change is one of the world's most serious problems right now. It has impacted negatively on countries, individuals, and societies, resulting in a high level of poverty as a result of its touch on livelihoods. Nigeria, one of the most densely populated countries on the planet, with a population of 180 million people, half of whom live in abject poverty, is considered sensitive to climate change. Government policies have attempted to address this issue; nevertheless, mitigation, adaption, and other attempts have not yielded the needed positive results. This is because the government lacks the political will to do so in light of the state's development concerns. From the Marxian political economy perspective, it is discovered that countries' levels of development have influenced their responses to climate change in a variety of ways. Thus, the paper recommends among others that, to check climate change, all key stakeholders should collaborate to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation, and that addressing climate change should be multi-sectoral in nature rather than confined to specific departments within the various ministries.