Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Environmental rights and climate justice organisations have sharply criticised Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent call for new finance mechanisms to “harness the economic value of nature,” warning that the proposal risks commodifying the environment and undermining true climate justice.
Speaking in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, the Vice President had urged for financial systems that would monetise Nigeria’s natural assets, including forests, land, and biodiversity, to unlock economic value.
But in a joint statement, groups including Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA; Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF; Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN; and Social Action condemned the idea, describing it as “a dangerous deviation from the principles of environmental justice.”
According to the organisations, “Vice President Shettima’s framing represents a concerning misinterpretation of true climate justice. By treating nature as an economic asset, Nigeria risks aligning with corporate and market-driven interests instead of the rights and aspirations of its people, especially those suffering the worst impacts of climate change.”
The groups warned that the approach, often framed under “nature-based solutions” and “carbon markets” could turn ecosystems into speculative commodities traded for profit.
“This model encourages the financialisation of nature, which has historically led to ecosystem destruction and the displacement of indigenous communities,” the statement said. “It prioritises financial returns over preservation and disrupts local food systems by displacing smallholder farmers and worsening food insecurity.”
They further argued that such a policy “violates human dignity and cultural rights,” stripping indigenous and local peoples of their identity and stewardship roles.
“It opens the door to corporate capture and greenwashing, allowing polluters to buy carbon credits rather than cut emissions, a deceitful practice that perpetuates planetary destruction,” they warned.
The groups also cautioned that monetising Nigeria’s natural resources could erode national sovereignty. “It mortgages our ecological wealth to volatile global carbon markets and external investors,” the statement added, urging the government to resist trading its natural heritage for short-term financial gains.
Instead, the environmental coalitions called on the Federal Government to prioritise renewable energy investments, agroecology, and community-led conservation, arguing that these strategies would “protect biodiversity, ensure food sovereignty, and promote long-term resilience.”
They stressed that true climate action “must be people-centred, rooted in justice and equity, and focused on protecting human and environmental rights, not dictated by the profit motives of corporations or carbon traders.”
Concluding, the statement read: “True climate justice demands that nature remains a shared trust, not a tradable commodity. It is the duty of the State to safeguard the environment and human dignity, not to commercialise them in pursuit of profit.”
