By Danjuma Amodu
Nigeria has commenced a five-day national capacity-building workshop aimed at strengthening the country’s greenhouse gas inventory, Measurement, Reporting and Verification systems and climate transparency framework in line with the Paris Agreement.
The GEF-CBIT National Capacity-Building Training Workshop on Nigeria’s MRV System, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Management and Climate Transparency for MDAs in Key GHG-Emitting Sectors and Subnational Governments, which opened on 5th October and will run till 9th October 2026 in Abuja, is organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.
The workshop, implemented under Nigeria’s Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency Project, brings together CBIT focal points, sectoral hubs, data providers and representatives of subnational governments.
At the opening session, the Director, Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, Hajia Halima Bawa-Bwari, highlighted the objectives of the training and stressed the need for transparent and credible reporting of greenhouse gas emissions in Nigeria. She said strengthening institutional and technical capacity was essential to ensuring reliable climate data for effective reporting and decision-making that prioritises emissions in key sectors of the economy.
Speaking on behalf of the FAO Representative in Nigeria and to the ECOWAS, Dr. Nifesimi Ogunkua urged participants to take full advantage of the technical and practical sessions of the workshop. She called on participants to conduct step-down trainings for relevant officers within their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies involved in emissions data collection, management and reporting at both federal and subnational levels, adding that cascading the knowledge gained would help broaden institutional capacities and improve the quality of reporting.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Dr Joseph Onoja, emphasised the importance of stronger synergy among institutions involved in generating, managing and reporting greenhouse gas emissions data, stressing that effective collaboration among key stakeholders was necessary to improve the accuracy, consistency and reliability of Nigeria’s climate data.
Participants are being trained on the domestic MRV system, national greenhouse gas inventory processes, sectoral data collection and management, Nationally Determined Contributions implementation tracking and field exercises covering Energy, Industrial Processes and Product Use, Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use, Waste and Transport.
The programme also includes practical sessions on Nigeria’s National Online MRV System, data validation and quality control, report generation and the Integrated Knowledge Platform for climate information sharing and decision-making. The workshop is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s institutional capacity to meet national and international climate transparency and reporting requirements.
GEF-CBIT, MRV, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Climate Transparency, FAO, Federal Ministry of Environment, NCF, Paris Agreement,
