Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are among Nigeria’s most urgent economic and public health problems, with transport accounting for over a quarter of Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions. Yet despite strong national climate commitments, many private businesses face technical, financial, and regulatory barriers to reducing these emissions. To bridge this gap and help speed up Nigeria’s low-carbon transition, the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition (UK PACT) initiative hosted regional stakeholder workshops in Abuja and Enugu in December 2025 through the Enhancing Private Sector Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action in Nigeria project.
The transport sector in Nigeria generates both greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global temperature rise and air pollutants that harm public health. The sector generates about 15% of Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions, and it generates harmful air pollutants, such as black carbon and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which have taken a toll on public health. Air pollution is now the third leading risk factor for premature death in Nigeria, and roughly a quarter of infant deaths in the country can be attributed to air pollution, which disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as children, women, and older people.
Nigeria has established a strong climate policy framework through its Climate Change Act (2021). It also has an Energy Transition Plan. In addition, it is one of the few African nations with a formal net-zero target. However, broader private-sector engagement on related actions remains limited. Businesses often lack the standardized guidance, technical skills and finance to measure and reduce emissions.
Mobilizing private-sector action
To bridge this gap and help speed up Nigeria’s low-carbon transition, the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition (UK PACT) initiative hosted regional stakeholder workshops in Abuja and Enugu in December 2025 through the Enhancing Private Sector Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action in Nigeria project.
The project aims to equip private businesses with the practical skills and tools they need to quantify emissions, explore and tap climate finance pathways, and develop and implement actionable clean air strategies. These introductory technical engagements aim to build awareness and strengthen the capacity of SMEs to adopt sustainable transport practices, invest in needed changes, and undertake innovative approaches in transportation. The initiative was delivered by a consortium led by the SEI at the University of York, with the AP3 Advisory; the SLOCAT Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLOCAT), Escher Silverman Global (ESG), and Consulting Engineers Group (CEG) as partners.
SLOCAT contributes to the consortium by providing technical knowledge on sustainable transport implementation and climate finance. The project will benefit from previous FCDO-supported work by SLOCAT, such as the Policy Guide to Improving Access to Climate Finance for Transport. In the coming months guidance material will be tailored towards the needs of stakeholders in Nigeria and in-depth training will be conducted to support the private sector towards bankable projects.
According to Nikola Medimorec, Director, Data Analysis and Research at SLOCAT:
“The development of action plans will enable multiple benefits for the private sector besides clean air and less greenhouse gas emissions. Better planning will result in higher efficiency, cost savings, new jobs, safer environment and resilient transport. Implementing clean and environmentally-friendly transport will ensure prosperity and growth in Nigeria.”
The workshops brought together private-sector actors, government agencies and technical experts to strengthen capacity, share knowledge and cultivate new partnerships that can accelerate climate and clean air leadership across Nigeria’s transport landscape. The sessions in both cities also sought to assess participants’ needs to inform the design of the detailed capacity-building workshops to be delivered in 2026.
Helping set the stage for change
Initial meetings with private sector partners confirmed that while the willingness to act is present, a major impediment is the lack of specific technical capacity and pathways to climate finance. This challenge is common for businesses across many African nations, where quantifying emissions, especially from disparate logistics and transport chains, can be difficult. By leveraging SEI’s practical guide, the consortium’s technical training, this project aims to position Nigerian beneficiaries to overcome these barriers. For instance, enabling small-scale transporters to transition their ageing fleets toward more fuel-efficient, lower-emission options, thereby unlocking both cost savings and clean air co-benefits.
Shifting to sustainable transport is difficult, especially for SMEs managing tight budgets and competing priorities. The UK initiative offers a free resource to help companies find solutions that can increase their competitiveness and help them move towards transport means with lower emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants.
The program offers enterprises support on a wide range of related issues, such as how to record and understand their emissions, and how to create climate action projects that can attract investments. The program is intended to help businesses better understand how investing in inclusive transport can be good for business, society, and the environment.
The Abuja and Enugu workshops are part of a wider national effort to build the foundation for long-term environmental and economic resilience in Nigeria. Continued collaboration between government, industry, and communities through the initiative aims to help lay the groundwork for a better transport system.
Ibrahim A. Shelleng, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Climate Finance and Stakeholder Engagement: “This gathering is the beginning of a stronger partnership between government and industry … an opportunity to support businesses to reduce emissions, improve air quality, enhance compliance, and remain competitive in a rapidly shifting global marketplace.”
