Agora Policy, a Nigerian think tank committed to finding practical solutions to urgent national challenges, has declared that Nigeria may lose $460 billion to climate change by 2050 unless the government takes action now.
The body in a report titled “Climate Change and Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria” which was released on Monday, said the global transition from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy is well underway and will likely make Nigeria poorer unless the country acts strategically.
It noted that while the government had recognised the challenge that the climate crisis poses to its development and made promises to address the challenge for national sustainable development, action has not kept pace with pronouncements and pledges.
While noting that it was hard to accurately calculate the economic cost of climate change in Nigeria, Agora Policy said available estimates suggested a cost of up to $100 billion by 2020 and $460 billion by 2050.
The report, however, noted that even though climate change poses significant threats to Nigeria’s economic development, it also presents an opportunity to diversify the economy, expand the energy portfolio, address energy security concerns, and increase global economic competitiveness.
Agora Policy added that the global transition from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy is well underway and would likely make Nigeria poorer unless the country acts strategically.