Enugu State and the Climate Governance Ranking: Progress Made, Impact Delivered, More Work Ahead

Sam Chijioke Ugwu

The rise of Enugu State in the recently released 2025 Subnational Climate Governance Performance Ranking offers a powerful encouragement for progress made by Governor  Peter Ndubuisi Mbah in confronting the escalating climate-related risks across our communities but also serves a as clear evidence that deliberate climate governance reforms, when properly implemented, can deliver tangible economic, social and environmental benefits for the people.

In the 2025 ranking, Enugu State emerged among the top-performing states nationwide, recording one of the most notable improvements in the federation — rising from 18th position in 2024 with 85 points to 5th position in 2025 with 270 points. This independent assessment, conducted by the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department of Climate Change (DCC) and the UK FCDO under the PACE programme, evaluates all 36 states across five core pillars of climate governance: institutional arrangements, climate policy, budgeting and finance, project implementation, and online visibility.

Our improved ranking was not accidental. It is the direct outcome of the intentional reforms triggered by the first edition of the ranking, which clearly diagnosed the gaps in Enugu’s climate governance architecture and provided a practical roadmap for improvement. We took that diagnosis seriously.

Following the first ranking, Enugu moved decisively to strengthen governance at the highest level. We undertook a rigorous and deliberative process to drafting a comprehensive Enugu State Climate Policy and Climate Action Plan which was tendered to and approved by the Enugu State Executive council. Our climate policy and action plan contains qualitative assessment of emission profile of the state, scenarios and pathways to emission reduction up to 2060. It also contains a detailed energy auditing of key public instructions of the state including the government building, the state secretariat, the Enugu State University and the State government hospital Park Lane) showing detailed expenditure of energy and potential for savings.

Equally critical to our rise in the ranking has been a deliberate effort to improve public communication and citizen engagement on climate action. Enugu’s enhanced online visibility reflects a broader shift towards transparency, climate education and public accountability. Through the Smart Green Schools Initiative, climate learning is now embedded within the education system, equipping teachers and students with the skills to understand environmental risks and champion local solutions. This is preparing a new generation of environmentally conscious citizens while strengthening community-level climate literacy.

Beyond institutional reform, Enugu has pursued bold, multisectoral implementation, carefully aligned with the governance incentives created by the ranking. A central pillar of this effort is our statewide reforestation and urban greening campaign, focused on carbon sequestration, ecosystem restoration and improved urban transport and liveability. These interventions have transformed streetscapes, restored degraded corridors and reduced urban heat stress — all of which directly affect public health, productivity and quality of life.

These sustained efforts have earned Enugu national recognition as Nigeria’s cleanest city. Speaking at the National Green Nigeria Challenge, where Enugu received the ₦100 million prize for environmental excellence, the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, remarked: “They earned it. It is not only in planting trees, but in environmental cleanliness. If you go to Enugu, Enugu is clean.” This award has since been channelled into further greening and waste-management improvements, reinforcing a virtuous cycle of governance and impact.

Our climate-conscious transformation has also extended decisively into the transport sector. In August 2025, Enugu launched a landmark clean-mobility initiative with the acquisition of about 200 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses. Beyond emissions reduction, this intervention is projected to generate over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs across operations, maintenance, fueling infrastructure and supporting services. It also delivers immediate cost savings for commuters and reduces the air-pollution burden that disproportionately affects urban workers, traders and schoolchildren.

At the flag-off of the project, Governor Mbah rightly observed: This initiative demonstrates how climate governance, when properly structured, can simultaneously address jobs, mobility, public health and emissions reduction.

In the energy sector, Enugu has partnered with international development partners to expand renewable infrastructure with a focus on health-system resilience. Under a ₦4.33 billion flagship project co-financed with the European Union, more than 25 primary healthcare centres are being electrified with solar power. This intervention is already ensuring uninterrupted service delivery, protecting vaccines, powering maternal health services and reducing diesel expenditure — a direct social and economic dividend of climate-aligned investment.

While the progress recorded in the 2025 ranking is substantial, we recognise that more work lies ahead. Resource mobilisation remains a pressing priority, and climate resilience must be further embedded into infrastructure, urban development, health and education planning.

The Governor has always showed a determination to move Enugu further up the ranking by inaugurating climate policy and action implementing committee comprising distinguished experts from the public and private sector with a mandate to expedite the operationalization of the action plan. By virtue of this, the state now operates a formal and functional climate coordination mechanism. This implementation committee is chaired by the Secretary to the State Government the honourable commissioners of Finance and Environment as co-vice chairs.

By inaugurating a multi-disciplinary team of experts to oversee implementation of the climate action Plan — ensuring that climate policy would not remain on paper, but translate into measurable outcomes, His Excellency, Governor Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, further demonstrated commitment to systematically integrated into development planning across key sectors.

The 2025 Subnational Climate Governance Ranking has demonstrated something profoundly important: when clear evidence, political leadership and institutional reform come together, rapid progress is possible. Enugu’s rise from mid-table to top-five performance reflects not just improved scores, but real improvements in environmental quality, public services, clean mobility, renewable power and green job creation.

We are proud of what has been achieved. Yet we remain conscious that this ranking is not the destination — it is a milestone on a much longer journey. With sustained collaboration, innovation and citizen engagement, Enugu is positioning itself not only as a top-ranked state in climate governance, but as a genuine leader in Nigeria’s transition to a climate-resilient, inclusive and environmentally secure future.

By Professor Sam Chijioke Ugwu

Hon Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change