Possibility of Ratification by 2016: Medium
Nigeria is yet to ratify the Paris Agreement. However, the country has announced plans to commence in September 2016 the process of consulting stakeholders with the intention of signing and ratifying the Agreement as soon as possible thereafter. The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, on June 5 2016 made this announcement during a Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on Implementation of Nigeria’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) (Bello, 2016).
According to Section 12 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, only by an Act of the National Assembly would any international treaty have locally enforceable status (Adebambo, 2013). The National Assembly is made up of a lower House of Assembly and an upper Senate. The process of deliberating and agreeing to ratify the Paris Agreement could be protracted and derailed by a lack of political will on the part of the Assembly and the Executive. It is still too early however, to tell if this will happen.
Submitted by Climate Scorecard Country Manager Ehrim Chiudo Jessy
Learn more:
Adebambo O. 2013. Domesticating international treaties. The Nation, 19 November
Bello K. 2016. Nigeria to ratify Paris climate treaty in September. Today, 6 June