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This book analyzes the risks to Nigeria's development prospects that climate change poses to agriculture, livestock, and water management. These sectors were chosen because they are central to achieving the growth, livelihood, and environmental objectives of Vision 20: 2020; and because they are already vulnerable to current climate variability. Since other sectors might also be affected, the findings of this research provide lower-bound estimates of overall climate change impacts. Agriculture accounts for about 40 percent of Nigeria's Gross Domestic product (GDP) and employs 70 percent of its people. Because virtually all production is rain-fed, agriculture is highly vulnerable to weather swings. It alerts us that increases in temperature, coupled with changes in precipitation patterns and hydrological regimes, can only exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. The book proposes 10 practical short-term priority actions, as well as complementary longer-term initiatives, that could help to mitigate the threat to vision 20: 2020 that climate change poses. Nigeria's vision can become a reality if the country moves promptly to become more climate-resilient. Climate variability is also undermining Nigeria's efforts to achieve energy security. Though dominated by thermal power, the country's energy mix is complemented by hydropower, which accounts for one-third of grid supply. Because dams are poorly maintained, current variability in rainfall results in power outages that affect both Nigeria's energy security and its growth potential. In particular, climate models converge in projecting that by mid-century water flows will increase for almost half the country, decrease in 10 percent of the country, and be uncertain over one-third of Nigeria's surface. The overall feasibility of Nigeria's hydropower potential is not in question. On grounds of energy diversification and low carbon co-benefits, exploiting the entire 12 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower potential should be considered. Nigeria has a number of actions and policy choices it might consider for building up its ability to achieve climate-resilient development.

Plastics have conveyed great benefits to humanity and made possible some of the most significant advances of modern civilization in fields as diverse as medicine, electronics, aerospace, construction, food packaging, and sports. It is now clear, however, that plastics are also responsible for significant harms to human health, the economy, and the earth's environment. These harms occur at every stage of the plastic life cycle, from extraction of the coal, oil, and gas that are its main feedstocks through to ultimate disposal into the environment. The extent of these harms not been systematically assessed, their magnitude not fully quantified, and their economic costs not comprehensively counted. The goals of this Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health are to comprehensively examine plastics' impacts across their life cycle on: (1) human health and well-being; (2) the global environment, especially the ocean; (3) the economy; and (4) vulnerable populations-the poor, minorities, and the world's children. On the basis of this examination, the Commission offers science-based recommendations designed to support development of a Global Plastics Treaty, protect human health, and save lives. This Commission report contains seven Sections. Following an Introduction, Section 2 presents a narrative review of the processes involved in plastic production, use, and disposal and notes the hazards to human health and the environment associated with each of these stages. Section 3 describes plastics' impacts on the ocean and notes the potential for plastic in the ocean to enter the marine food web and result in human exposure. Section 4 details plastics' impacts on human health. Section 5 presents a first-order estimate of plastics' health-related economic costs. Section 6 examines the intersection between plastic, social inequity, and environmental injustice. Section 7 presents the Commission's findings and recommendations. Plastics are complex, highly heterogeneous, synthetic chemical materials. Over 98% of plastics are produced from fossil carbon- coal, oil and gas. Plastics are comprised of a carbon-based polymer backbone and thousands of additional chemicals that are incorporated into polymers to convey specific properties such as color, flexibility, stability, water repellence, flame retardation, and ultraviolet resistance. Many of these added chemicals are highly toxic. They include carcinogens, neurotoxicants and endocrine disruptors such as phthalates, bisphenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), brominated flame retardants, and organophosphate flame retardants. They are integral components of plastic and are responsible for many of plastics' harms to human health and the environment.Global plastic production has increased almost exponentially since World War II, and in this time more than 8,300 megatons (Mt) of plastic have been manufactured. Annual production volume has grown from under 2 Mt in 1950 to 460 Mt in 2019, a 230-fold increase, and is on track to triple by 2060. More than half of all plastic ever made has been produced since 2002. Single-use plastics account for 35-40% of current plastic production and represent the most rapidly growing segment of plastic manufacture.Explosive recent growth in plastics production reflects a deliberate pivot by the integrated multinational fossil-carbon corporations that produce coal, oil and gas and that also manufacture plastics. These corporations are reducing their production of fossil fuels and increasing plastics manufacture. The two principal factors responsible for this pivot are decreasing global demand for carbon-based fuels due to increases in 'green' energy, and massive expansion of oil and gas production due to fracking.Plastic manufacture is energy-intensive and contributes significantly to climate change. At present, plastic production is responsible for an estimated 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the contribution of Brazil. This fraction is projected to increase to 4.5% by 2060 if current trends continue unchecked. The plastic life cycle has three phases: production, use, and disposal. In production, carbon feedstocks-coal, gas, and oil-are transformed through energy-intensive, catalytic processes into a vast array of products. Plastic use occurs in every aspect of modern life and results in widespread human exposure to the chemicals contained in plastic. Single-use plastics constitute the largest portion of current use, followed by synthetic fibers and construction.Plastic disposal is highly inefficient, with recovery and recycling rates below 10% globally. The result is that an estimated 22 Mt of plastic waste enters the environment each year, much of it single-use plastic and are added to the more than 6 gigatons of plastic waste that have accumulated since 1950. Strategies for disposal of plastic waste include controlled and uncontrolled landfilling, open burning, thermal conversion, and export. Vast quantities of plastic waste are exported each year from high-income to low-income countries, where it accumulates in landfills, pollutes air and water, degrades vital ecosystems, befouls beaches and estuaries, and harms human health-environmental injustice on a global scale. Plastic-laden e-waste is particularly problematic. Plastics and plastic-associated chemicals are responsible for widespread pollution. They contaminate aquatic (marine and freshwater), terrestrial, and atmospheric environments globally. The ocean is the ultimate destination for much plastic, and plastics are found throughout the ocean, including coastal regions, the sea surface, the deep sea, and polar sea ice. Many plastics appear to resist breakdown in the ocean and could persist in the global environment for decades. Macro- and micro-plastic particles have been identified in hundreds of marine species in all major taxa, including species consumed by humans. Trophic transfer of microplastic particles and the chemicals within them has been demonstrated. Although microplastic particles themselves (>10 µm) appear not to undergo biomagnification, hydrophobic plastic-associated chemicals bioaccumulate in marine animals and biomagnify in marine food webs. The amounts and fates of smaller microplastic and nanoplastic particles (MNPs <10 µm) in aquatic environments are poorly understood, but the potential for harm is worrying given their mobility in biological systems. Adverse environmental impacts of plastic pollution occur at multiple levels from molecular and biochemical to population and ecosystem. MNP contamination of seafood results in direct, though not well quantified, human exposure to plastics and plastic-associated chemicals. Marine plastic pollution endangers the ocean ecosystems upon which all humanity depends for food, oxygen, livelihood, and well-being. Coal miners, oil workers and gas field workers who extract fossil carbon feedstocks for plastic production suffer increased mortality from traumatic injury, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Plastic production workers are at increased risk of leukemia, lymphoma, hepatic angiosarcoma, brain cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, neurotoxic injury, and decreased fertility. Workers producing plastic textiles die of bladder cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and interstitial lung disease at increased rates. Plastic recycling workers have increased rates of cardiovascular disease, toxic metal poisoning, neuropathy, and lung cancer. Residents of \"fenceline\" communities adjacent to plastic production and waste disposal sites experience increased risks of premature birth, low birth weight, asthma, childhood leukemia, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.During use and also in disposal, plastics release toxic chemicals including additives and residual monomers into the environment and into people. National biomonitoring surveys in the USA document population-wide exposures to these chemicals. Plastic additives disrupt endocrine function and increase risk for premature births, neurodevelopmental disorders, male reproductive birth defects, infertility, obesity, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and cancers. Chemical-laden MNPs formed through the environmental degradation of plastic waste can enter living organisms, including humans. Emerging, albeit still incomplete evidence indicates that MNPs may cause toxicity due to their physical and toxicological effects as well as by acting as vectors that transport toxic chemicals and bacterial pathogens into tissues and cells.Infants in the womb and young children are two populations at particularly high risk of plastic-related health effects. Because of the exquisite sensitivity of early development to hazardous chemicals and children's unique patterns of exposure, plastic-associated exposures are linked to increased risks of prematurity, stillbirth, low birth weight, birth defects of the reproductive organs, neurodevelopmental impairment, impaired lung growth, and childhood cancer. Early-life exposures to plastic-associated chemicals also increase the risk of multiple non-communicable diseases later in life. Plastic's harms to human health result in significant economic costs. We estimate that in 2015 the health-related costs of plastic production exceeded $250 billion (2015 Int$) globally, and that in the USA alone the health costs of disease and disability caused by the plastic-associated chemicals PBDE, BPA and DEHP exceeded $920 billion (2015 Int$). Plastic production results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to 1.96 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO e) annually. Using the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) social cost of carbon metric, we estimate the annual costs of these GHG emissions to be $341 billion (2015 Int$).These costs, large as they are, almost certainly underestimate the full economic

The rural transport infrastructure sector is a critical force for sustainable development that is interwoven with many other sectors. Rural transportation is an underlying driver of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a crucial contributor to many socioeconomic benefits for rural people around the world. This review paper expands upon, enhances, and cross-references the perspectives outlined in previous rural infrastructure-focused review papers. Firstly, this work gives a thorough look into the progress of the rural transportation sector in recent years by focusing on the thematic relationships between infrastructure and other components of sustainable development, namely, economics and agriculture, policy and governance, health, gender, education, and climate change and the environment. Secondly, several strategies, approaches, and tools employed by governments and practitioners within the rural transport sector are analyzed and discussed for their contributions to the wellbeing of rural dwellers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These include rural roads, bridges, maintenance, and non-infrastructural approaches that include concepts such as advanced technological innovations, intermediate modes of transport (IMTs), and transport services. This paper concludes that enhancement, improvement, and extension of rural transportation infrastructure brings significant benefits to rural dwellers. However, this paper also calls for additional integration of the sector and increased usage of systems approaches that view rural transport as an active part of many other sectors and a key leverage point within rural development as a whole. Further, this paper notes areas for future research and investigation, including increased investigation of the relationship between rural transportation infrastructure and education, improved data collection and management in support of improved policymaking, improved prioritization of interventions and institutionalization of maintenance, and expansion of pro-poor transportation strategies and interventions.

Drought frequency and severity have intensified in recent decades due to climate change, posing significant threats to ecosystems and livelihoods in the Sahelian region of northeastern Nigeria. In response to these growing challenges, this study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in drought conditions from 2001 to 2024 by integrating multiple remote sensing-derived indices with climatic data to assess both ecological and socio-economic impacts. Unlike previous studies that primarily relied on precipitation-based indicators, this research incorporates a broader approach by combining vegetation-based indices—including the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Vegetation Health Index (VHI)—with temperature-based indices such as the Temperature Condition Index (TCI). This integration allows for a more nuanced understanding of drought impacts by linking vegetation stress, temperature anomalies, and rainfall patterns across diverse agro-ecological zones. To comprehensively capture the complexity of drought dynamics, advanced statistical techniques, including trend analysis and multiple correlation tests, are employed to reveal different relational patterns between indices. The results reveal significant fluctuations in drought severity, highlighting critical drought periods and persistent aridity in states such as Borno, Yobe, and Gombe. Thermal stress, measured through the Temperature Condition Index, peaked at 16,263 km² in 2001, declined to 6,909 km² in 2013, and increased again to 9,945 km² by 2024. Meanwhile, the Vegetation Condition Index indicates sustained vegetation stress, with drought-affected areas expanding from 109,566 km² in 2001 to 126,606 km² in 2024. These prolonged dry conditions have severe implications for agricultural productivity, water resources, and rural livelihoods—particularly among pastoralist and farming communities—exacerbating food insecurity and economic instability in the region. By offering a multi-index, long-term assessment of drought dynamics, this study provides critical insights for policymakers and resource managers. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted climate adaptation strategies, such as improved water resource management, early warning systems, and sustainable land-use practices, to mitigate the escalating risks of climate-induced drought in the Sahelian region.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has formulated an ambitious strategy, known as Vision 20: 2020, which aims to make Nigeria the world s 20th largest economy by 2020. This book argues that there are many ways that Nigeria can achieve the Vision 20: 2020 development objectives for 2020 and beyond, but with up to 32 percent lower carbon emissions. A lower carbon path offers not only the global benefits of reducing contributions to climate change, but also net economic benefits to Nigeria, estimated at about 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The FGN and the World Bank agreed, as part of the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2010-13, to conduct an analysis of the implications of climate change for Nigeria's development agenda. The current volume focuses on low-carbon development. Building on the work under way on Nigeria's nationally appropriate mitigation actions, the authors evaluate opportunities to pursue national development priorities using technologies and interventions that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), referred to here as low-carbon options. The document is structured as follows: chapter one is introduction; chapter two provides essential background on the country and the economic sectors. Chapter three describes the analytical approach, providing a summary of how the scenarios were developed, methods of analysis, models, and the data and general assumptions used. Chapters four-seven present the analysis and results for each sector: agriculture and land use, oil and gas, power, and transport, respectively. Each chapter provides an introduction to the sector and the approach, findings, and recommendations for options and actions for low-carbon development. Chapter eight summarizes the key findings across sectors. It describes the main scenarios that were modeled across all sectors and their implications for GHG emissions and the economy. It provides general recommendations on how Nigeria can reconcile national growth objectives with low-carbon development using a cross-sector perspective.

The need to elucidate the urbanization–climate–pollution nexus in West African arose from the several reported, but disjointed cases of climate extremes and environmental degradation in the sub-region. This review analyzed several scenarios, to appraise the trends and relationships among the individual elements in the nexus and to ascertain the status of sustainable development in the sub-region, using the expository review methods. Urbanization was essentially characterized by population growth without complementary infrastructural development, weak coping strategies against climate extremes, numerous economic challenges, and high risk of environmental pollution. Initiative for urban renewal, urban greening and smart city development was low, and preparedness against future impact of extreme climate events and climate change is uncertain. However, there is clear evidence that the concept of sustainable development is growing in the sub-region. This is intensified by the international funding agencies insisting on the incorporation of environmental issues into development, the enactment of environmental laws and policies, and the establishment of institutions of enforcement in each country. The review concluded that although the sub-region is at the brink of severe effects of population explosion and environmental degradation, the growing awareness and implementation of the sustainable development goals may come to the rescue.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the World Bank have agreed to carry out a Climate Change Assessment (CCA) within the framework of the Bank's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Nigeria (2010-13). The CCA includes an analysis of options for low-carbon development in selected sectors, including power, oil and gas, transport, and agriculture. The goal of the low-carbon analysis is to define likely trends in carbon emissions up to 2035, based on government sector development plans, and to identify opportunities for achieving equivalent development objectives with a reduced carbon footprint. This study comprises the following components: (i) development of a reference scenario of greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions for the agriculture sector, consistent with vision 20: 2020 and other government plans; (ii) identification of opportunities for reduced net emissions- reduced emissions and or enhanced carbon sequestration- while achieving the same development objectives as in the reference scenario; and (iii) economic assessment of low-carbon options in order to help the Nigerian government to prioritize policy options. The study evaluates costs and benefits in a partial equilibrium setting, with no attempt to capture the indirect, general equilibrium effects of adopting low-carbon technologies or management practices. The results of this analysis (the first of its kind in Nigeria) should be considered as a first approximation of the potential for low-carbon development in the Nigerian agriculture sector. The study aims at providing policy makers with an order-of-magnitude estimate of mitigation potential, and an understanding of the value of dedicating further efforts (including through specific projects) at pursuing low-carbon development in agriculture, but is not meant to inform the design of specific, project-level interventions.

The ecological scarcity of West Africa leads people to believe that resource conflicts between farmers and herders stem from environmental limitations. The research investigates how compost-for-fodder exchanges and biogas loops, and solar-powered fodder banks affect violence levels and economic stability and carbon storage through two years of fieldwork in 120 Nigerian communities. The research investigates how circular economy solutions which convert waste materials into valuable assets through crop residue and manure and water recycling programs create trust between different groups. The implemented solution reduced violent incidents by 48% while simultaneously increasing family income between 20 to 25% and establishing environmental sustainability that can endure climate change impacts. The research shows that peace-oriented circular economy policies need to be created to build sustainable socio-ecological systems in conflict-stricken regions.

Nigerian poverty research is often fragmented and focuses on samples with minimal actionable strategies. This study aims to identify essential poverty alleviation and climate change strategies by synthesizing existing research, extracting the most critical poverty alleviation and climate change factors, and assessing strategies to combat poverty and climate change in Nigeria. We obtained, utilizing the centrality measures of social network analysis and the visualization tools of bibliometric analysis, the research hotspots extracted from 119 articles from the SCOPUS database for the period 1994–2023, compared outcomes with other countries, and analyzed their implications for eradicating poverty in Nigeria. We find that low agricultural productivity and food insecurity are some of the essential poverty-engendering factors in Nigeria, which are being intensified by climate change irregularities. Also, researchers demonstrate weak collaboration and synergy, as only 0.02% of researchers collaborated. Our findings highlight the need to direct poverty alleviation efforts to the key areas identified in this study and increase cooperation between poverty alleviation and climate researchers.

Despite numerous concerns about climate change and the deterioration of nature, the construction industry is still one of the largest consumers of minerals and natural resources. In recent decades, sustainable construction using renewable and recyclable materials, reducing energy, and the adoption of more green technologies with the aim of reducing harmful impacts on the environment have received profound worldwide attention. The more key stakeholders involved strive to achieve sustainability, the more barriers they may face, which requires investigating them to have an effective plan to recognize, prevent, and control them. This paper reviews, classifies, and analyzes the major barriers of sustainable construction between January 2000 and April 2023. In this scientometric study, 153 articles were selected from the Web of Science database. Then, bibliometrics, the creation of maps from network data, as well as the illustration and exploration of those maps were conducted with the HistCite 12.03.1 and VOSviewer 1.6.20 software programs. The analytical results showed that the most profound barriers of sustainable construction are classified into 12 groups: price, economic parameters, awareness, technical, policy and regulations, design, management and government, environmental, social, materials, planning, and market.