Strengthening Climate Governance and Driving Low-Carbon Transport Transformation

The UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) programme, implemented by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the University of York in partnership with key Nigerian institutions, including AP3 Advisory, is advancing a comprehensive effort to strengthen climate governance within Nigeria’s transport sector. This multi-stakeholder initiative focuses on building institutional capacity, reducing emissions and air pollutants, and promoting sustainable economic growth.

By aligning technical partners, private-sector operators, and financial institutions, the project aims to accelerate the shift toward cleaner, low-carbon transport systems. It seeks to bridge gaps in data, planning, governance, and financing, providing a foundation for long-term sector transformation supported by collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Overview

Nigeria contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and is among the countries with the highest concentrations of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). These pollutants—including black carbon and methane—are major drivers of poor air quality and pose severe public health risks. With rapid urbanisation, growing logistics demand, and a heavily road-dependent economy, the transport sector has become one of Nigeria’s most emission-intensive industries.

Improving air quality and reducing climate pollutants in the transport ecosystem offers immediate and long-term benefits. Cleaner transport directly supports better health outcomes, lowers operational costs, strengthens resilience, and unlocks opportunities for gender-responsive and inclusive growth. Women, for example, disproportionately experience the health and economic burdens of air pollution and inefficient transportation systems.

This project addresses these challenges by improving the capability of transport-sector actors to measure, report, and reduce emissions. Logistics companies, transport operators, regulators, infrastructure developers, and financial institutions will receive targeted support to:

• adopt climate-aligned operational practices,

• implement innovative emission-reduction strategies,

• integrate climate data into business planning, and

• increase readiness for climate finance opportunities.

The project will also establish collaborative platforms that bring public, private, and financial actors together to co-design solutions. By providing a practical and replicable model, it demonstrates how climate and clean-air action can be embedded into the transport sector and scaled across other high-emitting industries in Nigeria.

Objectives

The overall goal of the initiative is to build institutional capacity, improve coordination, and strengthen resource mobilisation to accelerate climate and clean-air action within Nigeria’s transport sector. The project is delivered through five interconnected workstreams:

1. Engaging High-Emission Sectors for Climate and Clean Air Action

This workstream engages heavy road transport, logistics, and fleet operators, helping them understand their emissions profile and encouraging sector-wide decarbonisation commitments.

2. Enhancing Business Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action

Transport businesses, fleet owners, and supply-chain actors will receive technical assistance to build internal systems for emissions tracking, develop climate strategies, and adopt cleaner technologies and practices.

3. Enabling Access to Climate Finance and Carbon Markets

This component helps private-sector actors and public institutions identify climate-financing pathways, prepare bankable proposals, and explore opportunities within emerging carbon markets.

4. Strengthening Policy and Regulatory Alignment

The project supports regulators and policymakers to reinforce Nigeria’s policy frameworks, align them with national climate commitments, and integrate clean-air considerations into transport planning.

5. Embedding Inclusion and Advocacy (GEDSI)

Gender equality, disability inclusion, and social inclusion are built into all project activities. This ensures that project benefits reach diverse groups and that solutions address the needs of vulnerable populations affected by pollution and mobility challenges.

About UK PACT Programme in Nigeria

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a flagship technical assistance programme funded by the UK Government’s International Climate Finance (ICF). The programme’s mission is to support partner countries with high emissions-reduction potential in accelerating their climate change mitigation efforts. UK PACT achieves this by enhancing the capacity and capability of key public, private, and civil society institutions to achieve ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and transition to low-carbon development.

UK PACT partners with Nigeria to implement its NDC and promote climate action.

The programme provides technical assistance to enhance capabilities, helping Nigeria accelerate its low-carbon transition and cut emissions.

Project Partners

Funder

The project is delivered by a consortium that brings together expertise in transport, finance, climate policy, and inclusion.

Consortium