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SCGPRR: The ranking that is reshaping climate governance in Nigeria’s states – EnviroNews
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From the dry borderlands of northern Nigeria, where desertification continues to threaten communities and livelihoods, to the southeastern part of the country, where gully erosion and flooding have battered local economy and displaced families, climate change is no longer a distant policy – it is a daily reality, playing out differently in every state.
Yet until recently, there was little consistent evidence to show how subnational governments were actually responding – whether they were investing in flood control, planting trees, implementing clean energy projects, strengthening climate institutions, or simply making policy commitments on paper without corresponding action.
This gap was what the Subnational Climate Governance Performance Rating and Ranking (SCGPRR) of Nigeria’s 36 states was built to close. A flagship scorecard produced jointly by the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) and the Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, the SCGPRR is designed to assess all 36 states of Nigeria. The initiative assesses states across key areas, including institutional arrangements, policy frameworks, climate-related budgeting, project implementation, and public transparency.
The States’ Climate Scorecard has introduced a new level of attention to climate governance at the state level. In Nigeria’s federal system, state governments have significant responsibilities and control substantial public resources, making their actions critical to the country’s climate response. The first edition of the report showed a significant gap between Nigeria’s national climate commitments and what was happening at the state level. It also relied significantly on information provided by states through reporting checklists with some level of validation.
The results revealed several important findings. Only Enugu and Taraba had cabinet commissioners whose portfolios explicitly included “Climate Change”, Only five states had both a dedicated Climate Policy and an Action Plan. Out of a maximum score of 325 points, Lagos recorded 182 points and was the only state rated “Outstanding”, while Zamfara recorded 35 points and was the last state.
The second edition of the SCGPRR, published in October 2025, introduced a significant change in the assessment methodology – it placed greater emphasis on evidence and verification. States were required to provide supporting documentation, including geotagged photographs, functional web links, budget documents, specific budget line items and other verifiable evidence. This change produced significant shifts in the rankings and provided a clearer picture of reported climate action at the state level.
Lagos maintained its position as the leading state back-to-back retaining the number-one national position with 315 out of 365 points. While Katsina, with 310 points, moved by 23 steps to claim the 2nd position; Kaduna, with 300 points, moved 13 steps to 3rd position from their respective position in the first edition.
The Society for Planet and Prosperity, in collaboration with the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement (PACE), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and in close partnership with the Department of Climate Change, inaugurated the Community of Practice (CoP) for Commissioners of Environment across Nigeria’s 36 states.
The initiative is designed to foster peer learning, strengthen accountability, and promote coordinated state-level climate action and governance. Following the second edition of the climate governance ranking, the CoP provides a platform for Commissioners to share experiences, exchange knowledge and best practices, and strengthen collaboration towards improving subnational climate governance and action across Nigeria.
Beyond this, the Subnational Climate Governance Performance Rating and Ranking (SCGPRR) has enhanced the investment readiness of Nigerian states by encouraging stronger climate governance systems. As states compete to improve their performance, many have established or strengthened climate institutions, developed climate change policies and strategic action plans, and improved climate budgeting and reporting. Through these governance reforms many states have secured partnership to build finance readiness platforms and developing pipelines of bankable projects thus improving their readiness to attract climate finance and technical support.
Building on these gains, the third edition of the SCGPRR places even greater emphasis on implementation, institutional strengthening, climate finance, and evidence-based performance. By strengthening these dimensions, SCGPRR 3.0 is expected to further improve the ability of states to present themselves as credible and investment-ready partners for multilateral climate funds, development finance institutions, philanthropic organisations, and private sector investors seeking high-impact climate initiatives.
The next phase of the assessment to be launched in Abuja on October 8 is expected to usher in a new level of strengthened institutions and policies at the subnational level. As the third edition of the Ranking approaches, the experience of the first two editions demonstrates that credible climate governance depends on credible evidence.
By strengthening measurement, verification and transparency, the scorecard provides governments, investors and development partners with a clearer basis for identifying progress, addressing gaps and supporting climate action where it is needed most. In the end, national climate commitments will only succeed when they translate into measurable action at the local level without fail.
By Elochukwu Anieze, Policy Analyst, SPP
