The move signals a broader shift in emerging markets: rather than relying on often slow and fragmented concessional finance, Nigeria is turning to carbon markets to monetize verified emissions reductions and channel revenues into priority sectors. These include gas-to-power infrastructure, grid reinforcement, methane abatement, renewable deployment and energy efficiency – projects that are difficult to fund through public budgets alone but critical for lowering energy costs and strengthening system resilience.

What Nigeria’s Framework Means in Practice

At the core of the framework is a national carbon registry to ensure transparency, integrity and traceability of credits, supported by emissions reporting requirements for major companies. This enables both compliance and voluntary carbon markets while anchoring Nigeria’s approach within its Energy Transition Plan, which targets net-zero emissions by 2060. Natural gas is expected to play a central role in the near term, accounting for more than 70% of the energy mix, supporting power generation and industrial growth while reducing higher-carbon fuel use.

Complementary initiatives, such as the planned Lagos Carbon Exchange, aim to issue millions of credits over the next decade and reinvest proceeds into clean energy, sustainable transport and climate-resilient infrastructure. Together, these developments offer a practical model for integrating carbon revenues into energy planning, infrastructure finance and capital mobilization, illustrating how carbon markets can become a tangible engine of development finance.

Why Carbon Markets Matter to the Caribbean

Across the Atlantic, Caribbean nations face many of the same constraints: heavy dependence on imported fuels, some of the world’s highest electricity prices and severe climate vulnerability. Transitioning toward renewables, gas-to-power, energy storage, grid modernization and efficiency upgrades requires sustained capital investment, yet traditional climate finance has often fallen short of regional needs.

In response, carbon markets are emerging as a practical, revenue-generating solution. Guyana has issued high-integrity forest carbon credits under ART-TREES, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in results-based payments for national priorities. Suriname has advanced jurisdictional REDD+ credits, positioning itself as one of the world’s few carbon-negative countries with tradable mitigation outcomes. Belize has leveraged blue-economy and conservation-linked financing tied to marine assets, aligning climate outcomes with fiscal relief and long-term investment. As global net-zero commitments grow, demand for high-quality carbon credits with measurable development impact is set to rise sharply. By developing domestic or regional carbon market frameworks, Caribbean states could achieve scale, attract private capital, reduce reliance on external financing and create sustainable local revenue streams.

Caribbean Energy Week (CEW) 2026, taking place 30 March–1 April in Paramaribo, Suriname, offers a platform to translate carbon market potential into bankable energy investments. With sessions on carbon credits, energy policy, financing frameworks and investment pipelines, CEW connects carbon markets to the region’s power, gas, renewables and infrastructure agenda, exploring pathways such as carbon pricing, blue carbon initiatives, regional compliance markets and carbon-linked green bonds.

Nigeria’s framework demonstrates how emerging economies can move beyond ad-hoc credit issuance toward systemic, transparent carbon markets embedded in energy and development planning. For Caribbean policymakers and investors, adapting these principles offers a clear blueprint to transform carbon assets into predictable revenue streams that strengthen energy security, lower costs and build resilience.

Join us in shaping the future of Caribbean energy. To participate in this landmark event, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.