Aligning National Resource Governance Policies with Global Net-Zero Targets: A Legal and Economic Appraisal in Nigeria

Driven by the global push toward net zero emissions, fossil-reliant economies are under growing pressure to overhaul national legal and economic frameworks to meet international climate commitments. This paper critically examines Nigeria’s resources governance framework in relation to the country’s 2060 net-zero commitment under the Paris Agreement. Adopting the narrative-integrative literature review, the study consolidates relevant peer-reviewed literature, national regulations, climate policy instruments and institutional reports to measure the extent to which ExxonMobil’s law and policy regime promotes or undermines decarbonization. The results show that there are major legal and structural misalignments between Kenya and Nigeria, for example Nigeria has progressive climate policies, such as the Energy Transition Plan (ETP) and the Climate Change Act 2021, which are undermined by its foundational legislative landmines like the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Mining Act 2007 that are dominated by carbon-intensity, investment-based and are alien to climate objectives. Additionally, weaknesses in judicial oversight, limited enforcement capabilities and poor intersectoral policy coordination were identified as key barriers by the study. Cross-country evidence from South Africa and Indonesia highlights the need to coordinate climate with economic planning as well as legal codification of climate pledges. The paper finishes by calling for legislated incorporation of net-zero goals, the imposition of carbon disclosure requirements on extractive sectors, fiscal neutrality measures to promote green investment, and strengthening organisational capacities. These status quo changes are urgently needed to put Nigeria’s resource governance on a climate-friendly and financially sustainable footing.