‘Carbon credit project to generate $5bn annually’

The federal government has been projected to earn up to $5 billion annually from carbon credit revenues through the 80 Million Clean Cookstoves Project. The Group Chief Financial Officer of GreenPlinth Africa Limited, Babatunde Aina, stated this during a media chat and stakeholders’ engagement that heralded the Green Conference and 2026 Projects Implementation Retreat billed […]

The federal government has been projected to earn up to $5 billion annually from carbon credit revenues through the 80 Million Clean Cookstoves Project.

The Group Chief Financial Officer of GreenPlinth Africa Limited, Babatunde Aina, stated this during a media chat and stakeholders’ engagement that heralded the Green Conference and 2026 Projects Implementation Retreat billed to hold March 3-5 in Lagos.

He added the project represents one of the most ambitious climate, economic and social interventions ever undertaken in Africa.

Aina said the 80 million clean cookstoves initiative goes beyond clean cooking, describing it as a strategic economic and environmental transformation programme capable of repositioning Nigeria within the global carbon market.

“When fully deployed, the 80 million clean cookstoves project is programmed to enable the Federal Government of Nigeria to earn up to $5 billion annually from verified carbon credit revenues,” he said.

According to him, the benefits will extend beyond the federal level, as states, local governments, host communities and participating households will also benefit through transparent carbon revenue-sharing mechanisms.

“This is climate finance working from the grassroots upward, not from the top down,” he said.

He added that the project aims to permanently change how over 80 million Nigerians, primarily women and children, cook their daily meals.

“This project is designed to permanently change these realities,” he said.

He said each participating household will receive a comprehensive clean-cooking solution package, including a highly efficient, thermally optimised clean cookstove supplied with two 15-litre cooking pots at no cost,.

“The stoves are equipped with digital metering and GPS tracking devices to capture cooking activities, real-time carbon dioxide emissions avoided and 24-hour online monitoring.

“A stove requires substantial heating only once and retains heat for four to five hours. One briquette can sustain cooking for up to five hours,” he said.

Aina said that the carbon markets are divided into two categories: the voluntary market and the compliance market.

“The voluntary market requires limited documentation and offers low prices of about $2 to $5 per metric tonne, while the compliance market is rigorous, regulated and currently valued at approximately $104 per metric tonne,” he said.

He added that the project is designed to operate within the compliance carbon market, ensuring sustainability and long-term economic impact.

“Carbon is the new global currency,” Aina said.

He said full-scale implementation of the project would commence in Lagos, Niger, Enugu, Nasarawa, Benue, Kebbi, Borno and Delta States, with structured expansion to all states of the federation.

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Tunde Lemo, described the project as a national awakening and a shift in environmental consciousness.

“For decades, our patterns of production, consumption and interaction with nature have placed us on a dangerous path. This moment represents an awakening, a new environmental consciousness for Nigeria,” he added.

Lemo described the 80 million clean cookstoves project as “one of the most ambitious climate, public health and social impact projects ever undertaken anywhere in the world.”

“When fully implemented, the project will conservatively remove about 1.2 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, making it the largest single clean cooking and household energy transition initiative globally,” he said.

According to him, the project is registered on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Climate Action Portal, aligning Nigeria with international best practices in climate transparency and accountability.

He added that firewood sellers would not be displaced but retrained and integrated into the clean energy value chain as briquette distributors.