As European countries continued to lead the world in environmental performance, Dr. Abiola Bashorun, Coordinator of the Climate Smart Sustainability Programme (CSSP), has urged Nigeria to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart sustainability programmes, including but not limited to Climate-Smart Agronomy and renewable energy, to address the country’s growing environmental and food security challenges.
Her call followed the release of the 2026 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a biennial assessment produced by researchers at the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and Columbia Climate School’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).
The report assessed 177 countries across key indicators, including climate change mitigation, environmental health, air quality, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem vitality, sanitation and waste management. It showed that European countries continued to dominate the global rankings, reflecting decades of sustained investment in renewable energy, pollution control, ecosystem restoration and strong environmental governance.
Nigeria ranked 138th out of 177 countries, with an overall score of 32.85, highlighting the need to strengthen environmental policies and climate resilience. The report showed that several African countries, including Lesotho, the Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Uganda, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Comoros, Senegal, Malawi and Cabo Verde, ranked ahead of Nigeria, underscoring the country’s need to accelerate efforts to improve environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
Reacting to the findings, Bashorun said the report should serve as a wake-up call for Nigeria to strengthen environmental governance and adopt innovative agricultural practices capable of improving food production while addressing climate change.
She said Nigeria could not achieve lasting food security without embracing climate-smart agriculture, noting that rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, flooding, desertification and land degradation were already affecting agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods.
According to her, agrovoltaics—the integration of solar photovoltaic systems with crop cultivation on the same farmland—offers a practical solution by enabling farmers to generate clean electricity while producing food, reducing energy costs, conserving water, improving crop resilience to extreme weather and creating additional income opportunities.
Bashorun said expanding renewable energy in agriculture would also support Nigeria’s commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060 under its Energy Transition Plan.
She noted that Nigeria continues to face significant environmental challenges, including deforestation, oil pollution in the Niger Delta, flooding, desertification and air pollution, all of which threaten economic growth, food production and public health.
According to historical estimates by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Nigeria loses between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares of forest annually, making it one of the countries with the highest rates of deforestation in Africa. The loss of forests contributes to biodiversity decline, soil degradation, desert encroachment and increased carbon emissions.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has estimated that restoring the oil-polluted Ogoniland ecosystem could take 25 to 30 years, underscoring the long-term environmental impact of decades of oil exploration.
Bashorun also noted that recurring floods continue to destroy homes, roads and farmlands across several states, while prolonged drought and advancing desertification are reducing arable land and worsening food insecurity, particularly in northern Nigeria.
She called on the Federal Government, state governments, development partners, private investors and research institutions to increase investment in renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, afforestation, sustainable land management, environmental education and green infrastructure.
According to her, countries that consistently rank high on the Environmental Performance Index have demonstrated that sustained investment, innovation, effective policy implementation and strong institutions are critical to achieving environmental sustainability.
She added that by scaling up agrovoltaics and other climate-smart technologies, Nigeria could improve food production, create green jobs, strengthen energy security, restore degraded ecosystems and build a more resilient economy capable of withstanding the growing impacts of climate change.
