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From Idu Jude, Abuja
Environmental rights organisations have condemned Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent call to create financial mechanisms that “harness the economic value of nature,” describing it as a dangerous attempt to commodify Nigeria’s environment.
Speaking in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30), the Vice President urged the development of systems to monetise the nation’s natural assets.
But groups including Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Lekeh Development Foundation, and Social Action, said the move undermines the very principles of climate justice.
In a joint statement, they argued that the proposal reflects “a concerning misinterpretation of true climate justice.”
By suggesting that Nigeria’s forests, water bodies, land, and biodiversity be monetised for financial gain, the groups warned, the government risks aligning with corporate and market-driven interests rather than protecting the rights and welfare of communities most affected by climate change.
“We find this framing deeply troubling because it reduces nature, our collective heritage and source of life, to a mere economic asset.
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This approach, often disguised under concepts like ‘nature-based solutions,’ ‘carbon markets,’ and ‘carbon offsetting,’ encourages the financialisation of the environment, turning ecosystems into speculative commodities traded for profit.
“Such schemes have historically led to the destruction of ecosystems, as they prioritise financial returns over preservation. They also disrupt local food systems by displacing smallholder farmers and indigenous communities from their ancestral lands, worsening food insecurity and rural-urban poverty,” the statement said.
The groups further warned that commodifying nature not only violates human dignity and cultural rights but also strips indigenous and local peoples of their identity and stewardship roles.
“It opens the door to corporate capture and greenwashing, where polluting companies buy carbon credits instead of cutting emissions, continuing to destroy the planet while pretending to be ‘climate champions.’ At the same time, this model risks an erosion of national sovereignty, as it mortgages Nigeria’s ecological wealth to volatile international carbon markets and external investors,” they cautioned.
Instead, the organisations urged the government to invest in a sustainable and equitable future, prioritising renewable energy, agroecology, and community-led conservation practices that protect biodiversity while ensuring food security.
They stressed the importance of inclusive dialogue with civil society, indigenous peoples, and local communities before advancing any policy on environmental or climate issues. Climate action, they said, “must be people-centred, rooted in justice, equity, and the protection of human and environmental rights, not dictated by the profit motives of corporations or global carbon traders.”
“We know that true climate justice demands that nature remains a shared trust, not a tradable commodity. It is the duty of the State to safeguard the environment, human culture, and dignity, not to exploit them in pursuit of inhuman market interests,” the statement noted.
