Carbon is essential to life. It is contained in the food we eat, our bodies, our energy sources and a constituent of almost everything we use daily. Most of the carbon we utilise is combined with oxygen creating oxides of carbon (carbon monoxide and dioxide).
Carbon dioxide plays a very important role in maintaining the earth’s systems, including keeping the planet warm. Plants also utilise it for growth. While carbon dioxide is essential for life on earth, its overabundance can lead to negative environmental impacts. Carbon dioxide and its warming effects are responsible for global warming and the associated climate change the world is currently experiencing.
Carbon emissions refer to carbon dioxide emitted from planes, cars, factories, etc., that cause harm to the environment.1 They have significant effects today and are considered a major driver of global climate change, a phenomenon that poses existential risks to the whole of humanity.2 The effects can be seen with the increasing intensity of severe drought, floods, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers.
Carbon emissions have a cross-boundary influence, as emissions in one country affect the whole world. Experts have regularly reiterated that inaction or even inadequate ones will lead to severe effects such as unprecedented levels of hunger and severe socio-economic and political disasters that could severely affect nations.3
Several activities emit carbon disproportionately. For instance, industrial activities and other energy consumption lead to the highest emissions. Hence carbon emissions must be monitored closely.
In a country like Nigeria, where carbon emissions are not so much of an interest to the general public, it is important to understand how much emissions are growing and what sources contribute to their growth. This will inform us what actions or measures can be taken to curb these emissions. Nigeria has set its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce greenhouse gases by 20% unconditionally. If the country is to meet these targets, we must understand and be informed about emission sources. To effectively track them, carbon emissions are grouped into three different scopes. These scopes help organisations and individuals track their carbon footprint.4
Scope 1 emissions refer to direct emissions from sources that an organisation or business releases directly. Notably, emissions from energy supplies purchased from a power plant do not count as scope 1 emissions. The same applies to emissions from vehicles not owned or controlled by one’s organisation. Examples of this category of emissions include those from the burning of fuels by privately owned vehicles, onsite industrial combustion processes and unintended release of refrigerants.
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. While these emissions are released at their generating plants, they are counted as part of an organisation’s emissions because they result from such an organisation’s energy consumption. This will refer to carbon emissions generated from electricity generated at the various power plants in Nigeria.
Scope 3 emissions are also indirect emissions. They are usually the most difficult to track and measure as they are beyond an organisation’s direct control. They include emissions from purchased goods and services, commuting/transportation, use of sold products and waste disposal.
Although carbon emissions from African countries, including Nigeria, are considerably low compared to other developed economies, it is still important to mitigate the growing amount of carbon emissions in the country. This is because as the effect of climate change intensifies, countries in the global south are set to be disproportionately affected.
To mitigate these emissions in Nigeria, in accordance with the country’s plan of attaining net-zero by 2060, as laid out in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), there will have to be a creation of carbon emission tracking framework. One way to go with this is to implement the emissions standard in the country, especially for industries. This will help develop a viable carbon market where carbon credits can be traded. In addition, a sectoral unit within the ministry of environment can be set up with the mandate of developing digital tools for tracking carbon emissions in Nigeria. Furthermore, policies must also be set up for road-worthy vehicles based on their internal combusting system and their rate of carbon emissions.
Nigeria’s carbon neutrality ambitions will require behavioural changes from individuals and corporate organisations in the energy and transportation sectors. We would need to transition to cleaner energy sources, electrify transport systems and massively adopt clean coking systems. A move in this direction would significantly contribute to global carbon reduction goals, preserve air quality and create new job opportunities for the country’s unemployed.