Abstract

Climate change is real, and its undeniable horrible impacts are a wake-up call to action. As a country, Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer - is already experiencing the adverse effects of climate change. The reliance on government efforts to tackle the climate menace has failed almost woefully, thereby frustrating the much-needed action against the climate pandemic globally. For this reason and maybe more, there has been a global surge in climate litigation where private individuals and concerned citizens seek to invoke the full machinery of the law, through the courts, to drive climate action forward. In Nigeria, however, there has been a stalemate in the growth of climate litigation with only two recorded cases - one of which is an interlocutory but highly significant decision of the apex court. The country also recently passed its first comprehensive law on climate change - an action regarded as a highly commendable climate action. This paper examines what the future holds for climate litigation in Nigeria following the decision in the case of Centre for Oil Pollution (COPW) v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as the passage of the Climate Change Act.

This paper will be part of the OGEL Special Issue on "Climate Litigation and the Energy Sector". More information here www.ogel.org/news.asp?key=750