People say that nothing in Nigeria comes as a surprise, yet to be a Nigerian is to be ready for a surprise. Nigeria’s showing at COP 28 by the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the UAE was one such ‘unsurprising surprise’. Delegates from Nigeria summed up to 1,411 as confirmed by UNFCCC, making Nigeria the country with the highest overall delegates from Africa and tied for the third highest in the world.

Commentary around this in Nigeria tended towards lamentations, especially at a time when the government was constantly pleading with Nigerians to manage the harsh economy, liking it to the biblical period of ‘trial and waiting’ sure to yield a bounteous harvest.

You can imagine the disappointment when the UNFCCC attendees list was discovered. The government, in a patchwork of explanations, confirmed the attendance of only 422 delegates on the budget of the government as if to appease already embittered Nigerians.

Concern moved from the shock of a long list of attendees in a national period of austerity to the identities of the delegates themselves. Sons, brothers and allies – many with portfolios not directly concerned with climate change were included. Moving beyond these valid concerns, an important question is the why.

Why does Nigeria not seem to care about climate change or emergency? If we cared, we might have had a modest list of people whose role in government can implement the outcomes from the COP in Nigeria. Why is climate change seen as secondary to the myriad concerns we grapple with? Why has the Ministry of Environment been silent on Nigeria’s next steps since COP 28?

International law and COP
Nigeria is a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. All parties to the Convention are bound to protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations by taking precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimise the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. One of the essential commitments undertaken by State Parties to the UNFCCC is to “cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change; develop and elaborate appropriate and integrated plans for coastal zone management, water resources and agriculture, and for the protection and rehabilitation of areas, particularly in Africa, affected by drought and desertification, as well as floods.”

In this respect, the UNFCCC embraces one of the underlying principles of environmental protection which is the ‘duty to cooperate’ and recognises the trans boundary impact of pollution. Hence, the Conference of the Parties (COP) is a forum for periodic examination of the constraints and progress of the climate agenda.

This forum has been particularly instrumental to commitments from States and non-State groups as stakeholders in climate resilience and environmental protection. The ground-breaking Paris Agreement set goals for all stakeholders to achieve climate resilience at CoP 21 and until the latest CoP, States have iterated the goals to fit critical environmental challenges of the day, affirming the use of science and technology as a tool for measuring the impact of environmental damage and embracing adaptation measures, considering the impact of sea level rise to small island states and embracing indigenous knowledge as a tool for the preservation of traditional climate resilience measures.

Over the years, Nigeria has participated in these forums. Gains from the controversial CoP 28 have been highlighted but the speech delivered by the immediate past president, Mohammadu Buhari at CoP 26 highlighted Nigeria’s most significant outing so far. While acknowledging the relationship between climate change and economic prosperity, the speech advocated for not only climate resilience but also climate justice which is hardly discussed across the board.

In his words, ‘Africa and other developing countries produce only a small proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to industrial economies. Yet, we are the hardest hit by the consequences of climate change as we see in the sustained droughts in Somalia and floods of unprecedented severity in Pakistan’. The speech ended with an unequivocal call for equitable financing based on the context of all members of the international community.

Not much has changed afterwards in terms of achieving equitable climate commitments but for the first time, the question of State obligations for climate change has come before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), hoping for an advisory opinion that would potentially unlock the door to binding international obligations for climate change.

Is Nigeria in denial of the climate problem?
Speaking of the advisory opinion on climate change, Nigeria’s absence is felt both at the ICJ and ITLOS. For the ICJ Advisory Opinion, the General Assembly Resolution bid led by Vanuatu was supported by 18 countries including African countries like Angola, Morocco, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

For the ITLOS, the request was submitted by the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS). Both requests are for the court and tribunal to clarify the legal obligations of States with respect to climate change.

Between these two advisory opinion requests, States, NGOs and regional organisations have put forward statements highlighting the nuances of their respective concerns, all in a bid to guide the court to a just opinion on the question.

At the time of writing, 88 submissions have been made to the ICJ while 34 States have submitted their statements to the ITLOS. This may perhaps be the most engaged advisory request before the international forums, receiving overwhelming support across regions of the world.

To be continued tomorrow.
Nwarueze is a Lawyer, Rhodes Scholar and international law researcher at University of Oxford. She advises on foreign policy and international law. She can be reached via: elizabeth.nwarueze@law.ox.ac.uk.