CLIMATE ACTIONS: CARBON PRICING ROLES IN PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND ADDRESSING SOCIAL INEQUALITIES

Abstract

Fossil fuel intensive production has played as the mainstream production for finished and semi-finished goods and services across several economies, such as Energy, Oil and Gas, Transportation, Mining, Manufacturing, and more, with an impactful uncontrolled degree of carbon emission. In a bid to achieve the globally embraced sustainable development goal on climate actions, the globe begs for pragmatic efforts to mitigate to the barest minimum, the negative impactful consequences of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the carbon-intensive economy. International bodies, national authorities have begun to adopt instruments like the Paris Agreement, to introduce practical carbon pricing policies to combat the incessant petrification of the climate environment. Adopting a doctrinal methodology, this paper examines the current carbon coping and pricing mechanisms to achieve the global goals on climate change and emission reduction operative across different global climes. More importantly, it examines the objectivity and sustainability of these extant approaches and juxtaposes them with the aid of diverse instruments across continents, to assess any corresponding positivity in the realization of environmental justice and social equalities. This paper finds that though Nigeria has made efforts towards addressing climate change, a legislative and institutional framework dedicated to carbon pricing cannot be overemphasized.