Nigeria has been selected among 14 developing countries to receive international support for cutting methane emissions, as global climate partners expand funding and technical assistance to tackle pollutants driving global warming.
The country is part of the Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator, an initiative providing technical expertise, dedicated national teams and support for developing investment-ready projects to reduce methane and other non-CO₂ greenhouse gases.
The expansion was announced at the Leaders’ Level Methane and Other Non-CO₂ Greenhouse Gases Summit at the ongoing COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.
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UK Climate Minister, Katie White, speaking on behalf of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, announced an additional $25m to bring seven more countries into the programme.
The new beneficiaries are Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Fiji, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines and Uzbekistan. They will join the initial seven countries — Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa — announced at COP30.
The latest commitment brings the programme’s announced funding to $50m, with a target of supporting 30 developing countries by 2030.
The initiative is designed to help participating countries move beyond climate pledges by developing practical emissions-reduction projects that can attract investment.
The announcement came amid wider efforts to mobilise resources for methane reduction. Philanthropic organisations at the summit pledged more than $480m in new funding for interventions across the energy, agriculture and waste sectors, as well as black carbon reduction, clean cooking, transport and cooling.
The funding is in addition to more than $530m already delivered by philanthropic organisations since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge in 2021.
International Energy Agency Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said at least 75 per cent of methane emissions from fossil fuel operations could be eliminated using existing technologies.
He added that more than 60 per cent of the reductions could be achieved at no net cost, highlighting the economic benefits of preventing gas from being released or wasted during production.
World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, said the bank was supporting methane reduction programmes in 45 countries, three times the number committed to at COP28.
According to him, the programmes are expected to cut 11 million tonnes of methane emissions and benefit more than 160 million people.
Banga cited results from Brazil, where small family dairy farms recorded a 10 per cent increase in yields alongside a six per cent reduction in emissions within one year.
He also highlighted a $1bn rice programme in India supporting more than 300,000 farmers.
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, called for financial assistance to help farmers adopt practices that reduce methane emissions, warning against transferring the cost of climate action to them.
“No one can reasonably expect farmers to bear the cost of adjustment for methane emissions, either in livestock farming or rice paddy farming,” she said.
Mottley also urged governments to move beyond voluntary commitments towards stronger international cooperation and regulation.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, called for stronger policies, increased investment and practical support to help countries implement their climate commitments.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for a shorter period than carbon dioxide but contributes significantly to global warming. Cutting its emissions is considered important for slowing the pace of temperature rise in the near term.
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