Lagos State has emerged as the most climate-resilient city in West Africa, with the state topping a new regional assessment for its advanced and measurable climate governance.
The ranking was released by the West Africa Climate Governance Index, WACGI, following a comprehensive evaluation of 209 sub-national governments across the 15 ECOWAS countries.
According to the report, Lagos scored 86.3 out of 100 points and was placed in Grade “A” — the highest rating. The assessment measured climate-risk exposure, governance visibility, climate finance, transparency, public participation and implementation capacity.
With the top score, Lagos outperformed Kano, Abuja, Greater Accra, Praia, Dakar, Porto Novo, Abidjan Autonomous District, São Filipe and Bombali, among others.
In recognition of the feat, WACGI conferred its prestigious “Grand Laureate of Climate Governance” award on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the leader of the best-performing sub-national government in West Africa for 2026.
In a letter by the Director of Fondation Lucien Paye, Professor Julie Peghini, congratulated the Governor for championing policies that mitigate climate hazards and strengthen adaptation in Lagos.
“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 letter read.
Professor Peghini said the full report and raw datasets have been published on the official French Government data repository.
WACGI said the assessment aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 on Climate Action and 17 on Partnerships, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 vision for a prosperous and climate-resilient Africa.
The France-based climate policy centre, established by the Africa Foundation at Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, said its mission is to advance climate governance across ECOWAS using indicators aligned with the Paris Agreement.
“Transparent, evidence-based assessment can become a powerful catalyst for institutional improvement,” Peghini said. “Recognition of strong performance should inspire ranked countries, while constructive recommendations should support governments seeking to strengthen their systems.”
Nigeria’s Climate Framework Noted the report acknowledged Nigeria’s elaborate climate governance architecture as ECOWAS’ largest economy, citing the Climate Change Act 2021, the National Council on Climate Change, NDC 3.0, the Energy Transition Plan, long-term net-zero strategy and growing climate finance tracking.
It, however, noted that Nigeria faces severe climate risks across zones: coastal flooding and erosion in the South, desertification and heat in the North, riverine flooding in the Middle Belt, agricultural vulnerability, gas-flaring and oil-sector transition risks.
With this recognition, Lagos becomes the first Nigerian state to be ranked number one in West Africa for climate governance and resilience.
