The Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) has announced the commencement of the second subnational climate governance performance ranking.
The processes started on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, with a virtual workshop organised by the DCC and the SPP to inform state climate change desk officers, directors, permanent secretaries, and climate focal persons of the improved ranking methodology and project timeline.
The virtual meeting was attending by over 40 officials from across the 36 states of the federation.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, Director of the DCC, emphasised the importance of the ranking as a tool for assessing and promoting best practices in climate governance at the subnational level. She stated that the data collected on the process is also vital for shaping national climate policy and guiding implementation.
The Director said that the Minister of Environment considers the first subnational climate governance ranking one of the key achievements of the ministry and is fully supportive of the effort to run the process again this year.
Dr. Abiola-Awe commended the dedication and commitment of the climate change desk officers and stressed the importance of strategic partnerships and capacity building for enhancing climate resilience.
“The journey toward climate resilience is complex and demands collective resolve, innovative solutions, and strong partnerships. The performance ranking offers a unique lens for evaluating our progress, identifying gaps, and sharing successful strategies. This second edition will deepen our understanding, inspire stronger commitments, and strengthen governance mechanisms that are inclusive, transparent, and effective,” she said.
In his address, the President of the SPP, Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, acknowledged the desk officers’ role in facilitating the first subnational climate governance ranking and rating through the commitment and effort they put into completing the survey questionnaires. He described them as the real heroes of the initiative, adding that the inaugural rating and ranking is generating attention and attracting global interests.
“The subnational climate governance rating and ranking is a highly innovative project – perhaps the first of its kind in Africa. I am therefore not surprised that the Honourable Minister recognizes the importance of this highly innovative project, and has embraced it as one of his major flagship achievements,” he said.
Prof. Okereke stated that because the ranking was gaining a lot of interest, it is important to make methodological improvements to ensure its legitimacy.
He stated that the revisions to the method for this year include the establishment of a review and quality assurance panel comprising of high calibre national and international climate governance experts and emphasis on one submission from each state which must have final endorsement of the honourable commissioner or permanent secretary.
He said that the ranking methodology would be revised to give more weight to climate project implementation and that the organisers are speaking with international development partners about how to increase the reward given to the wining states.
Professor Okereke announced that, in parallel to the rating and ranking exercise, SPP would be working with the DCC to mount a range of capacity building trainings and workshops for the state desk officers and commissioners of environment in the country.
“We should remember that the main goal here is not to single out and shame underperformers, but to foster a spirit of collaboration, encourage all states to do better, recognize the ones that are doing well, and give opportunities to the ones that are lagging behind to see what the people ahead are doing and to copy from them,” he added.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Environmental and Natural Resources in Ekiti State and Chairperson, Committee of Commissioners for Environment, praised the initiative and pledged Ekiti State’s full cooperation in providing accurate and timely data for the ranking.
Desk officers took turn to give their commendations to DCC and SPP on the ranking project, and vouched to work with their principals to submit accurate data and also to make themselves available for the training and capacity building programmes.
Launched in July 2024, with states like Lagos, Gombe, Ebonyi, Borno and Ekiti as high performers, the subnational governance rating and ranking initiative aims to streamline and catalyse climate action at the subnational level through a systematic, rigorous and robust ranking and rating process.
The second edition will build on this momentum to achieve its goal of empowering subnational governments and improving climate change governance across Nigeria.