ENERGY TRANSITION AND DECARBONISATION IN THE NIGER DELTA: REPOSITIONING NIGERIA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR A FAIR AND JUST TRANSITION

Abstract

Climate sustainability and decarbonisation of the Nigerian oil and gas sector have both risks and opportunities for the Niger Delta region. How those risks are managed and how those opportunities are leveraged depends heavily on the legal framework and the institutions established to enforce their provisions. If the legal framework is not properly positioned to ensure just sustainability and a fair transition, the decarbonisation regime risks repeating the paradox of the extractive sector wherein the Niger Delta region, which provides the natural resources, disproportionately bears the negative impacts of their extraction. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to critically examine the implications of energy transition and decarbonisation for the Niger Delta region within the context of Nigeria’s legal framework for climate sustainability. Using doctrinal methodology, the paper analyses primary legal sources including the Climate Change Act 2021, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and relevant judicial decisions, alongside secondary materials drawn from policy, journal articles and institutional reports. The paper argues that existing laws focus primarily on emissions reduction and climate governance but pay inadequate attention to the socio-economic future of the Niger Delta region. It further proposes legal reforms that embed just transition principles, establish a transition fund, strengthen economic diversification, promote carbon market participation and reinforce community-centred climate governance. The paper concludes that the extant legal framework must be repositioned urgently and decisively if decarbonisation is to serve justice and not repeat historical exclusion.