Nigeria’s Carbon Market Framework, as released by the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC – pronounced “N Tripple C”), sets out the country’s foundational architecture for credibly participating in domestic and international carbon markets. These include the mechanisms, processes and institutions that aim to position Nigeria not only as a seller of carbon credits but also as a country that integrates carbon markets into its wider development, climate and economic transition strategy.
Importantly, the Framework, at its core, offers clarity in areas of governance, integrity and value creation – providing clarity on how carbon projects will be authorised; how credits are created and tracked, and how the country will align with international carbon market mechanisms such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, while ensuring the protection of national interests is prioritised.
Key to the Framework is a sovereign carbon oversight function that explicitly positions carbon credits generated within Nigeria as a national climate asset. This means project developers must obtain authorisation from the designated national authority before credits can be traded internationally. The intent is to prevent double-counting, ensure transparency, and protect Nigeria’s nationally determined contribution (NDC).
The Framework also prioritises environmental and social integrity. Projects must demonstrate real, additional, and verifiable emissions reductions, supported by robust measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. In addition to the above, the Framework also emphasises community benefits and well-defined social safeguards to ensure projects are consistent with the country’s sustainable development priorities and provide a wide range of co-benefits such as access to clean energy, jobs and enterprise development, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity protection, improved health, and livelihood support.
Equally notable is the explicit recognition of the private sector and carbon finance to mobilise climate action at scale. The Framework creates market entry points for corporates, financial institutions, project developers, and sub-national governments, while also laying down the minimum standards for participation to ensure market integrity. As such, this can present opportunities for actors in various sectors such as energy, agriculture, forestry, waste, and clean cooking.
In this sense, the Framework also serves as a signal to Nigeria’s ambition to become a hub of regional carbon markets. By laying out the rules early on, Nigeria hopes to attract only high-quality investment that aligns with its national development and climate goals, and pre-empt the reputational risks of low-integrity credits, building confidence with international buyers.
In conclusion, Nigeria’s Carbon Market Framework is not just about carbon trading: it’s about mainstreaming climate action into Nigeria’s broader development goals, pursuing the transition in a just, transparent and accountable manner, and leveraging emissions reductions to generate genuine economic and social value for Nigerians.
For more information, visit the FuelTree website to read and download the Nigerian Carbon Market Framework FAQs.