Abuja: The Country Director of Search for Common Ground, Mr. About Ouattara, emphasized that carbon offset initiatives could provide a practical solution to the pressing issues of pollution, poverty, and violence in the Niger Delta. He proposed that a well-structured carbon market could effectively address both environmental and socio-economic challenges faced by the region.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Ouattara highlighted these issues at the National Dissemination of the Carbon Offset Study Report and Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue held in Abuja. He described the Niger Delta as a region marked by both abundance and adversity. Despite its wealth of resources, the area has been plagued by environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods, and severe health risks due to decades of gas flaring, oil spills, and artisanal refining. These activities have resulted in some of the highest emissions in Africa, primarily from gas flaring and informal oil operations.
Ouattara explained that these emissions exacerbate global climate change and intensify socio-economic vulnerabilities, creating a cycle where environmental damage leads to underdevelopment, which in turn fuels conflict and criminality. He pointed to the EU-funded Community-Centred Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta as a promising model. This approach, implemented with the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) and PIND Foundation, aims to align carbon offset strategies with local needs, offering both environmental and peacebuilding benefits.
Eric Pitos, Programme Manager at the European Foreign Policy Institute in Dakar, reiterated the EU’s commitment to climate action, noting that the initiative aligns with the European Green Deal and broader efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Pitos stated that carbon offsets can complement direct emissions cuts if managed with integrity, referencing the EU Emissions Trading System, which has successfully reduced emissions by nearly half and generated over 200 billion euros for clean innovation.
Furthermore, Ms. Florence Kayemba, Country Director of SDN, warned that environmental degradation continues to fuel insecurity in the Niger Delta, impacting livelihoods and social stability. She urged Nigerian regulators to adopt global best practices for managing carbon markets to ensure that local communities benefit directly. Kayemba emphasized that carbon offset initiatives must not only reduce emissions but also address the root causes of insecurity, ensuring that the most affected become the primary beneficiaries.
The dialogue in Abuja gathered policymakers, researchers, civil society, the private sector, and community leaders to build consensus on embedding carbon offsets in Nigeria’s development and peacebuilding strategy. Organizers noted that the forum followed previous state-level dialogues in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta States, which identified urgent concerns such as environmental degradation, youth vulnerability, and drug abuse in the region.
