This document discusses mainstreaming green economy concepts into Nigeria's national development plan, Vision 20:2020. It provides background on green economy and outlines objectives to integrate green growth strategies to achieve sustainable development goals. A situational analysis of Nigeria's economy notes opportunities to pursue inclusive economic growth without degrading natural resources. The document proposes activities like measuring natural capital and adopting green economy indicators to guide development planning across sectors. It emphasizes the need for stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and political commitment to effectively implement a green economic framework in Nigeria.

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Mainstreaming Green Economy into National Development Plan NV20: 2020
Background
Economic growth across Sub Sahara Africa in the past decade has averaged 5 per cent. This
offered a ray of hope in lifting as many people above the poverty line. However, the duo of
global economic slowdown and climate crisis dimmed such hope in 2008. A continent that
largely depends on natural resources has to develop economies that are resilience both to
climate change impacts and volatility in commodities pricing in the long run. Green economy
concepts and applications when adequately understood can provide the leverage on
sustainable development as being currently pursued. The African Development Bank (AfDB)
has defined Green Growth in the African context as, ‘pursuing inclusive economic growth
through policies, programmes and projects that invest in sustainable infrastructure, better
manage natural resources, build resilience to natural disasters, and enhance food security’i
.
These concepts and applications need to be clarified and mainstreamed into existing national
development plans. While the primary objectives of these development plans, for example in
Nigeria; remain poverty reduction, employment generation, economic growth and wealth
creation, it is needful to link implementation of the economy with sustainable development
by considering Green Growth or Green Economy concepts for shift in development patterns
towards greener development models. This will require getting other measures such as the
National Resource Accounts into the conventional national economic accounts thereby
accounting for the country’s natural capital. Measuring the natural capital of the country will
help to factor the depletion of natural resources into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)ii
. It is
not cost effective in the long run to pursue economic growth and sustainable development in
isolation as the case is in Nigeria. It is however, beneficial to pursue sustainable economic
development that offers a growth trajectory that does not get locked-in in resource intensive
infrastructures especially within the context of the long term development framework of
Nigeria Vision20: 2020 (NV20:2020).
Situational Analysis
Nigeria recorded a real GDP of 6.23 per cent in 2014, the year the country rebased the GDP
thus becoming first economy in Africaiii
. This was largely accounted for by the service
(especially Information Communication and Technology, and Creativity) industries.
Notwithstanding, the general public wants to see the figure translates to development. Growth
without development has increased demand for tangible results among the citizens. A long
term framework for development crafted as the national vision (NV20: 2020) to be among the
first twenty economies by the year 2020 though ambitious provides direction and serves as
entry point for green economy concepts and applications. The NV20:2020 vision statement
is, ‘by 2020, Nigeria will have a large, strong, diversified, sustainable and competitive
economy that effectively harnesses the talents and energies of its people and responsibly
exploits its natural endowments to guarantee a high standard of living and quality of life to its
citizens’iv
. The vision has two fundamental broad objectives which are: optimising human
and natural resources to achieve rapid economic growth and translating that growth into
equitable social development for all citizens. These aspirations have been defined across four

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dimensions: social, economic, institutional and environmental dimensions. The three pillars
of the NV20:2020 represent the building blocks of the future that Nigerians desire. The
pillars are guaranteeing the productivity and wellbeing of the people; optimising the key
resources of economic growth and fostering sustainable social and economic development. It
is however acknowledged that consistency by different tiers and arms of governments is
important to translate strategic intent into action and desired results. It is noteworthy this plan
has been grouped into thematic areas for effective linkages across sectors. This is to ensure
targeted investments, synergy, optimisation of inputs, outputs and outcome, as well as other
efficiency gains derivable with the expectations that collaborations and cooperation among
and within sectors required to achieve goals are engendered.
This economic transformation blueprint indicates sustainable development with its three
pillars (social, environment and economic development) and elements of enablers: human,
natural, manufactured/physical/built, financial and social capitals that Green Economy
principles and actions can help drive desired resultsv
. This is a workable template with which
green economy can effectively deliver inclusive economic growth without eroding natural
capital stock. Lessons of mainstreaming green economy principles and actions to national
development plans in Africa now existvi
.
Objectives and Expected Results
The shift to green economy has been described as the action-oriented pathway to sustainable
development. It places environment as the enabler of social and economic development.
Whereas the current status is that Nigeria has mainstreamed sustainable development into
development plans, it has yet to integrate green economy considerations, such as green
growth strategy, which would achieve the aspirations of sustainable development by factoring
economic value of natural resources. Green growth evolved not as an economic theory but
rather policymakers attempt to find practical ways of reconciling economic growth and
environmental sustainabilityvii
. Green growth is an implementing strategy for sustainable
development that focuses on improving the eco-efficiency of production and consumption
and promoting a green economy, in which economic prosperity is achieved alongside
ecological sustainability. The vision of having strong, diversified and competitive economy
that responsibly exploits natural endowments to guarantee high living standard and quality of
life to citizens can readily be achieved with green growth as a crucial economic strategy. A
green growth approach is a way to generate and sustain development gains and achieve
higher and better quality growth in the medium and long terms. It provides a positive agenda
by seeking to develop synergies instead of focusing on the trade-offs between environmental
sustainability and economic growth. This green action plan seeks to embed into Nigeria’s
national development plan NV20: 2020 green growth as a strategy for leapfrogging
technologies and practices that led to a ‘pollute first, clean up later’ mentality, characteristic
of conventional development model. This implies reframing national development planning
processes in the context of green economy.
A reframed national development plan in the context of green economy offers opportunity to
recognise and seize the benefits of shifting to a green, low carbon and inclusive economy. It

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is a more sustainable model of economic growth through a mix of policy reforms and
economic instruments which acknowledge country’s socioeconomic development,
challenges, and options. It is expected that there will be demand for country green economy
assessment, formulation of strategies and action plans aimed at integrating green economy
principles into national economic transformation blueprint of Nigeria’s NV20: 2020. The use
of green economy systemic approach which delivers at multiple levels and guide policy
outcomes across dimensions (social, economic and environmental), sectors and actors at all
levels of planning is a match for NV20: 2020. The NV20: 2020 has been structured in
thematic areas encasing sectors with inter linkages that ensure synergy, targeted investment,
optimised inputs, outputs and outcomes as well as other efficiency gains derivable. It also
includes sub-national investment plans. Green economy makes efficiency gains possible.
There are concerns for quick wins. Since the benefits of green economy are in the medium to
long term. It is a concern that pursuing green growth could undermine short term desire of
rapid economic growth and development. An understanding of trade-offs involved and
managing these through complimentary policies and measures calls for an appropriate
sequencing and mix of policy instrumentsviii
. While implementation is not easy, encouraging
examples across Africa shows green economy principles in development planning is possible
with enabling conditions in existence. A choice for green investments that can drive inclusive
economic growth higher than business-as-usual investments, generate income and
employment while reducing pressure on the environment will be an irresistible option for
respective actors of reframed NV20: 2020.
Planned Measures/Activities
Environment sector comes under the Regional Development & Environmental
Management/Geopolitical zones thematic areas of the first national implementation plan for
NV20: 2020 (2010 – 2013) (NPC, 2010). These thematic areas are defined within two of the
three pillars of NV20: 2020 namely: guaranteeing the well-being and productivity of the
people and fostering sustainable social and economic development. It is an implicit condition
of low material and energy intensity and high labour productivity which corresponds to the
twin criteria of green and inclusive. This is in agreement with the rationale for pursuing green
economy as an alternative model for economic and social development. The EMG Report
(2011) concludes that public policies will need to be used strategically to orient the process of
economic growth towards such a sustainable pathway, and issues of fairness in income
distribution and social investment, as well as planning for long-run energy and resource
efficiency, need to be included in the redefined set of economic policy goals. This approach
requires a systemic shift rather than incremental improvements alone. It has been documented
in the first national implementation plan NV20: 2020 (2010 – 2013) (NPC, 2010) that rapid
economic growth will be dependent on growths in many sectors such as agriculture, energy,
tourism, manufacturing etc each of which will have significant impact on the environment.
This implies that the national environmental assets must be maintained at a level that meets
the need of the present generation without jeopardising the interests of future generations.
The challenge for the country therefore is to make the development process of NV20: 2020
compatible with environmental protection. The National Resource Account which evaluates

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the contribution of the environment to national wealth as an important planning mechanism
for strategic development can be used for measuring the natural capital of the country. The
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH’s sector network for
sustainable economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa (GIZ, 2013) noted that one option
to enhance and strengthen awareness of green economy at national level could be the
integration of green economy indicators into national monitoring and evaluation systems.
This could help to assess the potential impact of green economy on social and economic
parameters and to prepare the ground for elaborating on greener development plans.
OECD (2013) has proposed a practical three-step agenda for action as guide for developing
country policymakers as they explore and pursue green policies. First, establish leadership, a
vision and plan for green growth. It builds support for national policy priorities in partnership
with public, private and civil society stakeholders. Vietnam’s strategic environmental
assessment and Tanzania’s public environmental expenditure reviews are two policy
instruments that have proven useful in integrating green growth into development,
infrastructure and budgetary planning processes. Secondly, design, reform and implement
policies that stimulate green growth: these policies must broadly value natural assets and
align incentives with green growth policy goals. Relevant instruments are taxes, pricing
instruments and mechanisms that value natural assets. Examples: reforming energy, water
and agriculture subsidies; taxing air and water pollution; placing royalties on mineral
extraction; and payments for ecosystem services. Regulations, standards and information
policies like standards and certification of sustainable production, sustainable public
procurement and clear land tenure rules are examples. Other types of regulatory policies are
regulation of water, the energy efficiency of industrial production, of buildings, or of
consumer products, as well as land-use regulations to ensure that new development in
growing urban areas is environmentally sustainable and resilient to climate change. There are
a set of cross-cutting policies to stimulate green growth in a systemic way: investment policy;
innovation and research and development policy; labour skill policy; and resilience and
climate adaptation policy. Third step is to strengthen governance, develop capacity and
resources for learning and sound decision making. It is possible to monitor, implement and
enforce green growth policies effectively. This includes developing capacity and human
resources in technical and managerial areas and in assessment and monitoring at all levels of
government. Mechanisms are also needed for broad multilevel governance and stakeholder
engagement, education and raising awareness, compliance and enforcement capacity and
monitoring and assessment. This three-step agenda for action on national green growth and
development belongs to all stakeholders: private sector, civil society groups, academia and
ordinary citizens. These steps are important for developing a robust policy framework.
Decision makers have options to choose most suitable entry points and policy mixes for their
countries that will provide the incentives, allocate fiscal budgets, assess opportunities and
progress and engage all stakeholders in learning and decision making to sustain natural
resources and human well-being. The sooner green economy policies and actions can be
pursued, the easier and more affordable the paradigm shift. The cost of inaction is not
negligible, especially for the millions of people in the lowest income classes that are

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invariably dependent upon natural resources for livelihoods. If we do not act today, the
development achieved so far could be significantly eroded and future opportunities for
growth seriously compromised. Green growth is emerging as a guiding framework for
delivering sustainable development goals.
Resources
Mainstreaming green economy into government policies usually falls within the
responsibilities of the Ministry of Environment, whose capacities and implementation power
are often limited. The effects of this are the forces driving the transition towards green
economy are often so weak that demands and suggestions are often drowned out. Another is
that green economy as a topic is usually viewed from a purely environmental perspective and
does not take economic aspects and arguments enough into account. Lesson from Ethiopia
(GIZ, 2013) even with only an environmental authority and no Ministry of Environment was
able to develop a comprehensive Green Growth strategy. Ethiopia offers a tripartite
arrangement going forward. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coordinates
the national response to climate change and green economy framework, the Prime Minister’s
Office incubates the process. It leads the steering committee responsible for resource
mobilisation, taps into climate financing from international organisations as well as from
national budget and defines the strategic direction relating to long term green economy
development. The steering committee and EPA are supported by a number of technical
committees that are chaired by the relevant ministries. The mobilised budget is available
through a National Finance Facility for Climate that is attached to the strategy and is
administered by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Nigeria Vision 20:
2020has a similar arrangement: the steering committee is housed by office of the Vice
President with National Planning Commission as secretariat; Ministry of Environment
anchors national response to climate change and green economy framework while technical
committees come from relevant ministries across sectors: agriculture, power, housing,
tourism, finance, petroleum amongst others. Stakeholders engagement with private sector,
civil society, government officials, donors, communities will ensure finance mobilisation and
shared concern especially with respect to removing harmful subsidies. Skills development is
enhanced. Green Climate Fund, grants from donor organisation, credit schemes, micro
insurance for agricultural risks, venture capital, CDM financing are relevant sources of
financing.
Implementation and Sustainability
An effective green economic planning is backed by strong political commitment and buy-in
at all levels and by a diversity of stakeholders. Stakeholders engagement apart from
strengthen the planning processes also provides stakeholders opportunity to learn and change
their own positions and perceptions, for example, where harmful subsidies in agriculture,
energy, fossil fuels, and water is necessary so as to make a level playing field for investment
in natural capital, correcting market failures. The upfront price of renewable energy is costly
and can be disincentive to investors in the short term. The South African Long Term
Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS) is an example of how stakeholder engagement works. The key

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stakeholders groups taken into account into the policy making process includes: the private
sector under umbrella like Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National
Association of Chambers of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA),
Organised Private Sector (OPS), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC), Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs), Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), civil
society organisations, academia and the general public have had influence on sensitive issues
as fuel subsidy and need to be effectively engaged.
Capacity needs for green national planning at the systemic, organisational and individual
level as proposed by OECD (2012)ix
enhances and reinforces the abilities of decision makers
and planners to evaluate the economic and social contribution of good environmental
management and mainstream it into the policy process. Capacities require include: capacities
to build long term environmental constituencies and liaise with affected stakeholders; ability
to create and sustain institutional mechanisms that systematically provide environmental
issues in the language of the policymaker and other stakeholders; and capacities to coordinate
initiatives funded domestically and by development support providers.
References/Notes
i
African Development Bank (AfDB), 2012. Facilitating Green Growth, Perspectives from
the African Development Bank, June 2012.
ii
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH’s sector
network, 2013. Green Economy in Sub Sahara Africa: Lessons from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Namibia and Nigeria, January 2013.
iii
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2015. Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report Issue
05, Quarter: One 2015. May 2015.
iv
National Planning Commission (NPC) (2010). Nigeria Vision 20:2020, Economic
Transformation Blueprint. December 2009/May 2010.
v
United Nations Environment Management Group (EMG) (2011). Working Towards a
Balanced and Inclusive Green Economy, A United Nations System-wide Perspective.
vi
UNEP, (2015). Building Inclusive Green Economies in Africa Experience and Lessons
Learned, 2010 – 2015. 50 pages.
vii
UNESCAP, 2012. Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific, Turing
resource constraints and the climate crisis into economic growth opportunities, A summary
for policymakers. April 2012.
viii
OECD, 2013. Putting Green Growth at the Heart of Development, Summary for
Policymakers, March 2013.
ix
OECD (2012). Greening Development: Enhancing Capacity for Environmental
Management and Governance. Paris: OECD.