Nigeria has expressed its desire to host 2027’s COP32 in Lagos. Speaking at a symposium attended by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, the head of Nigeria’s climate change council Nkiruka Maduekwe Nigeria stated that Nigeria has demonstrated climate leadership, and that it was time for the country to host a COP summit. Lagos state commissioner for environment Tokunbo Wahab supported this proposal, adding that Lagos would do whatever is necessary to host the summit: “If Azerbaijan can host COP in Baku, why can’t Nigeria do it in Lagos?” COP hosting rights rotate between the UN’s five geographic blocks, with COP32 being Africa’s turn five years after COP27 in Egypt. According to Net Zero Tracker, Nigeria is the only African country to have enshrined a net zero target in law, aiming to reach net zero by 2060. However, it is also the continent’s biggest oil producer, with extensive offshore oil drilling and drilling in its southern Delta region. Nigeria is the first country to officially declare its interest in hosting the summit. African countries will jointly decide which country to put forward to host COP32, with their decision likely to be made at COP30 in Brazil this November.
