Environmental experts and stakeholders have called for an urgent review of Nigeria’s 34-year-old Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) law, warning that the existing framework is inadequate to address emerging environmental and social risks associated with the country’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The stakeholders spoke during a two-day policy lab organised by the Cleen Foundation in Port Harcourt to examine Nigeria’s preparedness for a just energy transition, with discussions centred on energy, environment and governance.

Programme Director of the Cleen Foundation, Salaudeen Hashim, said the EIA process had become obsolete and was contributing to weaknesses in the country’s response to environmental degradation.

Hashim said Nigeria must ensure that its transition to cleaner energy does not repeat the environmental failures associated with decades of fossil fuel exploitation, particularly in the Niger Delta.

“Does transition mean going green or does it mean being just?” he asked, stressing the need for communities to participate in the process and benefit from renewable energy opportunities.

He said renewable energy must be accessible, affordable and available, while strong safeguards must be established before large-scale deployment of new technologies.

According to him, Nigeria also needs clear policies for the disposal and recycling of batteries and solar panels as renewable energy infrastructure expands.

“If there are issues where you want to replace them, you have a recycling plant that can help recycle the battery,” he said.

Senior Lecturer in Environmental Systems at the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, Kabari Sam, said the current EIA Act, enacted in 1992, was not designed to address the realities of climate change and the emerging energy transition.

Sam said a six-pillar framework developed by the researchers examined legal and policy provisions, community participation, accountability and transparency, climate change integration and institutional capacity, among other areas.

He identified community participation and institutional coordination as major weaknesses requiring urgent reform.

According to him, communities should be involved at every stage of environmental assessment, while benefits from projects should be fairly distributed among affected communities.

Sam also called for stronger coordination of environmental responsibilities under the Federal Ministry of Environment, arguing that the fragmentation of environmental functions among different government agencies weakens regulation and accountability.

Professor Mbalisi Festus, an environmental education expert, described the proposed review as timely, saying the existing law was overdue for reform.

Festus criticised the practice of promoting the benefits of projects to host communities without adequately explaining their potential negative environmental and social consequences.

He advocated the inclusion of economic impact assessment alongside environmental and social assessments to determine how projects could affect communities, livelihoods and social cohesion.

He said communities should be properly educated about both the benefits and risks of projects before being allowed to make informed decisions.

The stakeholders warned that Nigeria’s energy transition must not simply replace fossil fuel-related environmental problems with new challenges from renewable technologies.

They urged government to strengthen environmental laws, improve enforcement, ensure meaningful community participation and establish clear safeguards for emerging energy technologies.

Hashim said the policy lab was expected to produce strategic recommendations capable of supporting government’s efforts towards a just energy transition, including emerging opportunities in green hydrogen and renewable energy.

The stakeholders maintained that Nigeria’s transition can only be considered just if environmental protection, community participation and equitable access to the benefits of cleaner energy are placed at the centre of the process.