1. The assessment concluded that Lagos demonstrated the strongest and most measurable climate governance framework among sub-national administrations across West Africa.

The ranking was based on an extensive evidence-driven study covering all 209 sub-national governments across the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

According to WACGI, the evaluation measured performance using several indicators, including climate-risk exposure, governance visibility, finance evidence, transparency, stakeholder participation and implementation capacity.

Using these benchmarks, Lagos recorded 86.3 points out of 100, the highest score in the assessment, earning a Grade “A” rating. The state ranked ahead of Kano, Abuja, Greater Accra, Praia, Dakar, Porto Novo, Abidjan Autonomous District, São Filipe and Bombali, among other sub-national governments.

WACGI noted that the assessment aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals.

The organisation also stated that its evaluation framework supports the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspiration for a prosperous and climate-resilient Africa.

As the highest-ranked sub-national government in the 2026 Best Performing Sub-national Government in West Africa category, Lagos State received further recognition through the conferment of the “Grand Laureate of Climate Governance” on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for overseeing what WACGI described as the region’s most resilient climate governance structure.

In an official notification dated July 8, 2026, addressed to the Lagos State Government, Professor Julie Peghini, Director of Fondation Lucien Paye, congratulated Governor Sanwo-Olu for leading policies and initiatives designed to reduce climate-related risks and strengthen climate adaptation across the state.

Peghini wrote, “In recognition of this achievement, we are pleased to confer upon Your Excellency and the Government of Lagos State the distinguished honour of the ‘Grand Laureate of Climate Governance’ for 2026 best performing subnational government in West Africa.

“The formal report and the raw results datasets are publicly available on the official French Government data repository.”

WACGI is a France-based climate policy and initiative centre established by the Africa Foundation (Lucien Paye) at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris.

The organisation works to strengthen climate governance across ECOWAS member states through indicators and assessment parameters that align with the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

Peghini stated that the publication reflects WACGI’s belief that transparent and evidence-based assessments can drive institutional improvement.

She added that recognising high-performing governments should encourage others across the region, while practical recommendations would assist administrations seeking to strengthen their climate governance systems.

The WACGI report further observed that Nigeria, as the largest economy and emissions system within ECOWAS, has developed one of the region’s most comprehensive climate governance structures.

According to the report, Nigeria’s climate governance framework includes the Climate Change Act 2021, the National Council on Climate Change, Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0, the Energy Transition Plan, a long-term net-zero strategy, and expanding climate finance analysis.

Despite these institutional measures, the report stated that Nigeria continues to face significant climate-related challenges across its ecological zones, including coastal flooding and erosion in the south, desertification and extreme heat in the north, river flooding across the Middle Belt, agricultural vulnerability, gas flaring and transition risks affecting the oil sector in the Niger Delta.

Source: This Day