President Bola Tinubu yesterday urged world leaders to demonstrate unity, courage, and sustained commitment in addressing the worsening global climate crisis.

Speaking virtually on a dialogue on climate and the just transition a high-level international dialogue on climate and the just transition, he reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to forging a paradigm shift in which climate action and economic growth advance together, not in opposition.

Tinubu said: “The global climate emergency demands our collective, courageous, and sustained leadership. For Nigeria, the urgency of this moment is clear: we view climate action not as a cost to development, but as a strategic imperative.”

The meeting co-hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inacia Lula da Silva aimed to accelerate global climate ambition ahead of COP30, which Brazil will host.

Leaders from 17 countries, including China, the European Union, climatevulnerable states, and key regional blocs such as the African Union, ASEAN, and the Alliance of Small Island States, participated in the meeting.

The leaders sent a clear message: climate action is moving forward, full speed ahead. Addressing the session from Abuja, Tinubu outlined Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) as a bold, pragmatic roadmap for reaching net-zero emissions by 2060.

The ETP targets five core sectors—power, cooking, transportation, oil and gas, and industry—and identified a financing need of over $410 billion by 2060 to achieve these goals.

He said: “We are, therefore, in the process of aligning our regulatory environment, fiscal incentives, and institutional frameworks to ensure that energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness proceed in lockstep. We are also taking leadership on Energy Access.”