The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has warned that nearly 32 million people across the region could be forced from their homes by the effects of climate change, with an estimated $294 billion needed to address the region’s climate financing needs.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Kalilou Sylla, disclosed this during a regional workshop held to validate a framework for establishing a West African carbon market platform.
Sylla, who was represented by the Director of Environment and Natural Resources at ECOWAS, Christophe Deguénon, said West Africa was among the regions most exposed to climate change. He noted that temperatures in the sub-region could increase by between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius by 2050.
According to him, the worsening effects of climate change could lead to widespread internal displacement and deepen existing economic and social challenges across the region.
He said the proposed carbon market platform was intended to improve West Africa’s participation in international carbon markets and enable member states to benefit from the region’s capacity to produce credible environmental and social carbon credits.
Sylla explained that the ECOWAS Regional Strategy for Access to and Mobilisation of Climate Finance, adopted in 2022, estimated the region’s climate financing requirements at $294 billion. He added that the funding gap had grown as member states increased their climate commitments under their updated Nationally Determined Contributions.
The commissioner said West African countries had considerable resources that could support carbon-market development, including more than 350 million hectares of agricultural land, extensive forests and mangroves, as well as opportunities to restore degraded landscapes.
However, he identified weak regulations, limited technical expertise, inadequate monitoring systems and insufficient certification mechanisms as major obstacles preventing the region from fully benefiting from international carbon markets.
He said ECOWAS began work in 2024 on a harmonised regional framework for a carbon market platform in line with ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
According to Sylla, the proposed platform would be guided by transparency, environmental integrity, inclusive governance and proper recognition of member states’ climate efforts.
He urged participants at the workshop to carefully review and validate the draft framework to ensure that the proposed carbon market was credible, transparent and capable of attracting investment.
Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, also expressed concern over the region’s vulnerability to climate change despite its relatively low contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Represented by a ministry director, Iniagbon Abiola-Awe, Lawal said the initiative provided an opportunity for stronger regional cooperation, innovation and investment in climate action.
He said Nigeria supported the establishment of a properly designed regional carbon market, noting that it could help ECOWAS member states attract climate financing and promote nature-based solutions.
The minister added that Nigeria was ready to collaborate with ECOWAS, other member states and development partners to ensure that the initiative produced practical benefits for citizens and national economies.
Lawal said climate change continued to threaten economies, ecosystems, food security and livelihoods across the sub-region, making collective action necessary to address the challenge.