ABUJA/Nigeria: Nigeria’s 36 states are set for a fresh assessment of their climate governance systems as the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) prepare to unveil the third edition of the Subnational Climate Governance Performance Rating and Ranking.
The SCGPR 3.0 is scheduled for presentation in Abuja on October 8, with commissioners responsible for environment, state climate change directors and climate desk officers expected at the event.
Representatives of federal ministries and agencies, development partners, climate finance institutions, private-sector organisations, civil society groups and climate governance experts are also expected to participate in the launch.
The announcement was contained in a statement signed by SPP Policy Analyst, Timothy Ogenyi, and released in Lagos on Thursday.
The ranking, jointly developed by SPP and the Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, is designed to provide a comparative assessment of how Nigeria’s states are building systems and institutions to respond to climate change.
SPP and DCC began the ranking exercise in 2024 against the backdrop of growing concern over differences in climate governance capacity among the states. The initiative provides a common framework through which states can measure progress, identify weaknesses and strengthen their climate responses.
The third edition comes with an enhanced assessment framework that places greater emphasis on actual implementation of climate projects, rather than focusing primarily on the existence of policies and plans.
According to the organisers, the assessment will examine five broad areas: climate governance and institutional arrangements; climate policies and action plans; climate project implementation; climate finance; and online visibility.
The increased focus on implementation reflects the need to determine how effectively climate commitments are being translated into programmes, projects, financing and measurable action at the state level.
The organisers said the first edition established the foundation for comparative assessment, while the second edition expanded the analysis across states, geopolitical zones and different assessment periods.
The third exercise is expected to provide state governments with an opportunity to examine their performance against a common national framework and identify areas requiring further institutional or policy attention.
For development partners and climate finance institutions, the assessment is also expected to provide information that could help identify areas where states may require technical assistance, institutional strengthening or financial support.
The ranking has increasingly become a tool for examining the readiness of states to implement climate-related policies and projects. SPP said the third edition would build on lessons from previous exercises while providing a stronger picture of implementation at the subnational level.
The October 8 unveiling is therefore expected to renew discussions around the capacity of state governments to turn climate policies into practical interventions and strengthen the institutional systems required to respond to climate change.
