Nigeria stands to unlock billions of dollars in economic value and create thousands of new jobs by fully embracing the carbon economy and deploying artificial intelligence, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Carbon AI, Debola Ibiyode, has said.
Speaking on TVC's Wake Up Nigeria programme, Ibiyode described the global carbon market as more than an environmental initiative, noting that it represents a rapidly expanding economic sector capable of driving industrial growth, employment, and export earnings.
She argued that misconceptions around climate initiatives often stem from concerns about disruptions to existing industries, particularly the fossil fuel sector, rather than outright opposition to environmental sustainability.
"If you've been used to making money from fuel, carbon initiatives are going to disrupt that space. But this is a multi-billion-dollar industry. It isn't just about saying don't use oil; there is an incredible economic advantage to it," she said.
Ibiyode identified agriculture as one of the sectors that could benefit significantly from the transition to a low-carbon economy. Agricultural products and waste materials, including livestock byproducts, corn, rice, and wheat, can be converted into renewable energy sources such as ethanol, creating new value chains and industrial opportunities.
Investments in these processing and refining pathways would stimulate local industries, generate employment across rural communities, and provide Nigeria with alternative sources of export revenue beyond crude oil, she added.
Ibiyode pointed to emerging climate-focused initiatives at the subnational level as evidence of growing interest in the carbon economy. She cited the Lagos State Carbon Credit Registry and ongoing engagements between state governments and energy sector stakeholders as indicators that policymakers are increasingly recognising the economic potential of carbon markets. These developments could help position Nigeria to participate more actively in global carbon trading and climate finance opportunities, she said.
On the role of technology, Ibiyode explained that Carbon AI was designed to simplify access to sustainability data and carbon market intelligence for businesses and policymakers. The platform uses artificial intelligence to analyse large volumes of environmental and carbon market data, providing organisations with insights needed to meet sustainability and net-zero commitments.
Beyond climate technology, Ibiyode said a recent macroeconomic study conducted by her team found that effective AI adoption could improve productivity across governance and institutional systems in Nigeria by between 10% and 15%. However, she cautioned against what she described as "AI washing," where organisations exaggerate their use of artificial intelligence or wrongly view the technology as a replacement for human workers.
"Companies are adopting AI wrongly when they think it can replace people. It's like when Excel came out and people thought it would replace accountants. It didn't; accountants just became faster and better," she said.
Earlier this year, President Bola Tinubu approved the implementation and operationalisation of Nigeria's carbon market framework, a landmark policy expected to generate at least $3 billion annually by 2030. The framework positions Nigeria at the forefront of carbon trading and opens the door to large-scale emission allowance transactions across energy, agriculture, forestry, waste, and industrial sectors.
