Enugu moves to 5th position in 2025 Climate Governance Ranking — Govt outlines reforms, targets further improvements
Enugu State has recorded one of the biggest improvements in the 2025 Subnational Climate Governance Performance Ranking, moving from 18th position in 2024 with 85 points to 5th place in 2025 with 270 points.
The state government said the new ranking, released by the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department of Climate Change (DCC) and the UK FCDO under the PACE programme, affirms the impact of deliberate reforms implemented in the last one year.
The Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Sam Chijioke Ugwu, who disclosed this in a statement, said the ranking evaluated the 36 states across five governance pillars — institutional arrangements, climate policy, budgeting and finance, project implementation, and online visibility.
He said Enugu’s rise was a direct result of measures taken after the first edition of the ranking exposed critical gaps in the state’s climate governance architecture.
“Following the initial ranking, the state undertook rigorous reforms including the drafting of a comprehensive Enugu State Climate Policy and Climate Action Plan, which has been approved by the State Executive Council,” he said.
According to him, the policy contains an assessment of the state’s emission profile, scenarios and reduction pathways up to 2060, as well as an energy audit of key public institutions such as the Government House, Enugu State Secretariat, ESUT and Parklane Hospital.
Ugwu said better public communication and citizen engagement also contributed to the improved score, adding that enhanced online visibility reflected the administration’s push for transparency and climate education.
He noted that the Smart Green Schools Initiative had embedded climate learning in the school system to build a new generation of environmentally conscious young people.
The commissioner said the state also accelerated multisectoral implementation, including a statewide reforestation and urban greening programme that has improved liveability, restored degraded areas and reduced heat stress in urban centres.
He recalled that Enugu recently won the National Green Nigeria Challenge, receiving a ₦100 million prize for environmental cleanliness. During the award, the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, described Enugu as “clean” and deserving of the recognition.
Ugwu said the state had also advanced clean mobility with the rollout of about 200 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses in August 2025, a move projected to create over 20,000 jobs and reduce transport emissions.
“This initiative demonstrates how climate governance, when properly structured, can simultaneously address jobs, mobility, public health and emissions reduction,” Governor Peter Mbah said at the flag-off.
He added that Enugu is partnering with international agencies to expand renewable energy infrastructure, especially in the health sector. Under a ₦4.33 billion programme co-financed with the European Union, more than 25 primary healthcare centres are currently being electrified with solar power.
The project, Ugwu said, is already supporting uninterrupted service delivery, vaccine preservation, maternal care and lower diesel costs.
He noted that while the 2025 result marks major progress, more work still lies ahead, particularly in resource mobilisation and integrating climate resilience into all sectors of development planning.
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To drive sustained implementation, Governor Mbah has inaugurated a Climate Policy and Action Plan Implementation Committee chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, with the commissioners of Finance and Environment serving as co-vice chairs.
Ugwu said the committee provides a formal, functional coordination mechanism and ensures that “climate policy will not remain on paper, but translate into measurable outcomes.”
He described the 2025 climate governance ranking as proof that evidence-based decision
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