Okereke: Why We Initiated Climate Governance Ranking for 36 States

The Founder, Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, over the weekend stated that the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), initiated the climate ranking among the 36 states of the federation to deepen the awareness of climate change action at the grassroot.

The climate change expert, acknowledged that without deliberate action by the federal government at the sub-national level, there will be little that Nigeria can do overall to increase or ramp up its climate resilience and mitigation outlook.

Speaking on the sidelines of a capacity enhancement programme for the 36 State Commissioners of Environment and Climate Change in Abuja over the weekend on the theme: ‘Peer Learning and Impact Evaluation of the Sub-National Climate Governance Ranking Initiative in Nigeria, acknowledged that for a very long time, national or policies about climate change have focused on the national level and for a very long time states were ignored.

Okereke, said the Society for Planet and Prosperity, in collaboration with the Department for Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, came up with a unique initiative to promote climate action at the state level.

“What we did was to start the ranking and rating of climate governance initiatives, actions and policy across the 36 states.

“We released the first result in 2023 – 2 years ago and we released the second result last year and what we found was that there is an incredible array of fascinating climate action happening at almost all of the states of the Federation.

“What we are doing today is to celebrate that increase in recognition and action but also to create an environment where all the commissioners will come together and learn from one another.

“What are you doing to be successful and what did you do or what are you doing that is make you not so successful in the ranking.” He said.

He underscores that the purpose of the ranking is just not scoring or grading the states but also to galvanize and increase and facilitate climate action at the sub-national level because at the end of the day these are the people that are actually at the front line of climate vulnerability and climate risks.

“On the other hand, without action at the sub-national level there will be little that Nigeria can do overall to increase or ramp up its climate resilience and mitigation.

“So today is about peer learning but also it gives the commissioners the opportunity to look at the ranking methodology and the framework to make their own input so that when we go for the third ranking everybody can be sure to say that we co-created this ranking methodology and that we own it together as a community.

On criteria to look out for, he said: “What we have seen, we are not actually particularizing anyone, we allow the states to tell us what action they have been doing.

“We have about five different metrics, we have climate policy, climate action plan, institutional arrangement for governing climate change, for example, do you have a commissioner for climate change in your state, do you have SPA for climate change?

“Also we want to interrogate whether they have legislative oversight for climate change, SPP also look now at the climate implementation. So are you doing flood defense systems? Are you doing reforestation? Are you doing renewable energy? Are you doing capacity building? We look at training, we look at online visibility and we also look at climate finance.

“To what extent is your state actually attracting climate finance? Because at the end of the day without finance very little or nothing can be done.

“So these are the range of climate initiatives and actions that we are measuring in the ranking.

On whether there has improvement in the climate governance since the ranking started, he explained that when we did the first ranking, people said, oh don’t rank because people are going to be nervous.

Okereke, added: “We said no, this is not about judging any state, it’s about highlighting what is happening in all the states and creating opportunity for growth.

“One of the most remarkable things that we have seen between the first and the second ranking is that almost all of the 36 states improved in their climate governance performance. Almost all of them, I think all of them improved.

“The challenge that we see is that sometimes the states are willing to work but they don’t have the resources, the money and the capacity.

“That’s why we are now moving away from only ranking to incorporating a network of learning but also emphasizing capacity building, training and supporting the states to be able to move from climate policy and action plan to implementation.”

He appreciated African Climate Foundation, UK British High Commission, UK FCDO, ECF and many other people who have supported SPP financially, adding that these organisations help in giving us ideas of how we can make the ranking to be fairer and how we can develop methodologies that states can use to standardize their report.

The Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Jigawa State, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Commissioners’ Forum, Dr. Nura Ibrahim Kazaure, while speaking on the expected outcome from the event, said: “I know that all the Commissioners are gathered here today.

“We are expecting 3 things, major things. Number one, we are expecting at the end of this, we should have a tailored training programme as part of capacity building.

“One, we are expecting a trust-based networking amongst us that will be relating very well and then, we are going to ensure that we adopt and implement all climate action measures, talking about mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and what have you.

“So this is the expected outcome after we’ve interacted very well with the network, very well, because it’s a peer-learning event. So it’s a knowledge-sharing event, experience-sharing event.

“So these are the kind of expectations that we want. But at the end of the day, the state will go back very happy that they have really learned.”

He acknowledged that whatever knowledge that is impacted on the Commissioners is going to add value to whatever they are doing in terms of climate actions and engagements in their states.

“I know there were agitations last year after the second round came down. For some states, that didn’t do well. What do you think were the major challenges, and how do you think that will be overcome this year? I think it has already been overcome, because the community of practice engagement that we’ve started will answer all questions.

“If you look at part of the agenda of today, we are looking at reviewing the sub-national climate governance ranking methodology. If we feel something is missing, we’ll add.

“If we feel something should not be there, we’ll remove, so that we can come up with an agreed template where each and every state would know and agree.” Kazaure, said.

He added that apart of the agitation last year was basically states don’t know the criteria used to come up with the ranking, stressing that now, engagements are happening, people are becoming more aware of the methodologies used, the sampling, the techniques or the framework used. I’m sure by next year or this year, third ranking, you won’t hear anything, he said.

The Assistant Director at the Ministry of Environment who spoke on behalf of the Director, Department of Climate Change, Dr. Iniobong Abiola Awe, while commending SPP, the organisers of the workshop, said the large turnout of Commissioners from the subnational at the event underscores the shared recognition that climate action in Nigeria must be coordinated, data-driven, and inclusive across all levels of government.

She said: “Nigeria’s climate response is at a critical stage. As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, we have made ambitious commitments under our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).”

Translating those commitments into measurable results requires strong

subnational engagement, adding that states are the engine rooms of implementation, whether in advancing clean energy adoption, promoting nature-based solutions, strengthening resilience to flooding, or improving waste management systems, tangible progress happens at the state and local levels. This Community of Practice is therefore designed to serve as a structured technical platform to bridge policy and practice.

Awe, said: “Today’s engagement is not a one-off event. It marks the beginning of sustained collaboration. We envision regular technical exchanges, thematic working groups, and shared digital platforms for data and knowledge management.

“If we align our efforts and institutionalize peer learning, we will not only strengthen Nigeria’s national climate architecture but also position our States as credible actors in the global climate arena.”