Authored By: INIOLUWA ESTHER AYODEJI
BABCOCK UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
“You lied to me…” These are the words of Prince Naveen to Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog (2009)’’ when they both turned into frogs and these words precisely describe the concept of greenwashing. In the spirit of combating global warming and climate change; governments, industries and international organizations like the United Nations (UN) have adopted and certain codes, regulations and treaties like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Paris Agreement etc. to reduce Green House Gas Emissions (GHG).
However, these efforts have significantly been frustrated by green washing- the practice/act of deceiving consumers about a company’s environmental activities in order to make a product or the business in general appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is.[1] It can take the form of misleading or outright fake advertisements, packaging or marketing with nature-based imagery to imply environmental responsibility and even the use of vague environmental buzzwords or campaigns like “a major player in the energy transition, eco-friendly” etc. as ruled in Greenpeace v. TotalEnergies (2025). In Nigeria, the government already domesticated the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act 2021.
However, the critical question still remains: Are Nigerian Laws sufficient to detect, prosecute and deter greenwashing by industries? This article therefore explores Nigerian existing framework, drawing mainly from the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Act 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA), Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act 1992, in order to assess their sufficiency in combating and prosecuting greenwashing.
THE PARIS AGREEMENT
Starting with the Paris Agreement which Nigeria is a party to, this treaty obligates signatory states to report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and progress in climate action through nationally determined contributions (NDCs)[2]. However, this treaty suffers from several critical limitations in addressing greenwashing. Firstly, the obligation of reporting emissions applies to party states, not to the industries that actually emit GHGs. This means that corporate environmental claims are not directly regulated by the treaty. Secondly, the treaty itself did not directly address or even sanction greenwashing. Nothing about corporate social responsibility towards the environment was mentioned, even though statically industries are the major and largest contributors to GHG emissions[3]. Thirdly, the treaty did not pose a specific penalty or enforcement framework for parties[4], let alone industries, who emit a lot of GHG.
For Nigeria specifically, the treaty itself cannot be applied. This is because Under Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, treaties must be domesticated by an Act of the National Assembly before they have the force of law in Nigeria and while Nigeria is a party to the Paris Agreement, she has not domesticated it yet. Overall, the Nigerian courts cannot interpret this treaty, let alone prosecute industries who practice greenwashing.
THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACT 2021
Moving on to the Climate Change Act 2021 (CCA), this act represents Nigeria’s most significant legislative response to climate change. It sets an emission reduction timeframe, establishes the National Council on Climate Change as well places sanctions for companies who violate or do not comply with climate obligations[5]. The act also imposes an environmental duty on private companies to report on their emissions release and performance on their climate change obligations, with the National council being their primary regulator[6].
At first glance, one might assume these provisions- particularly the reporting obligation and the sanctioning of non-compliant companies can be interpreted to also include and punish companies that practice green washing. However, on a closer examination one will discover that this is far from the truth. This is because, under this Act, a “climate obligation” is a specific legal duty aimed at reducing emissions[7]. It does not include the prohibition of deceptive marketing or a ban on fake/ misleading campaigns that paint the picture of being eco-friendly. The definition of climate obligation is only restricted to reduction of GHG emissions not the transparency of corporate information. Hence, the “sanction” for non-compliant companies will not apply directly to companies found guilty of green washing because the definition of climate obligations is only restricted to the reduction of physical emissions. A further implication of this, is that under this act a company might fulfill the climate obligation but still practice green washing and escape punishment.
THE FEDERAL COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2018 (FCCPA)
The FCCPA is another act aimed at protecting consumer rights[8]. This act contains the most directly applicable provisions that can be used to combat greenwashing, as it prohibits misleading commercial practices. Specifically, sections 112, 114(2), 116(2), 123 and 125 prohibit false/misleading promotion, marketing and information of goods and services while section 123 prohibits any fraudulent/ deception in the nature, property and use of any goods or services. While, these provisions aren’t directly aimed at punishing or combating green washing. They can still be interpreted by Courts to punish companies found guilty of false sustainability claims, Misleading advertisements using nature-based imagery or any deception/ green washing activity whatsoever.
THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 2020 (CAMA)
CAMA contains provisions that could potentially be used to address greenwashing at the corporate level. Sections 305 and 862 specifically imposes a duty on directors to give true and fair view of the company’s affairs and imposes punishment for any false information intended to deceive shareholders. Again, while this Act does not directly address greenwashing, some of its provisions still punish any false/misleading information.
THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (NESREA)
This act vests NESREA the responsibility of protecting and developing of the environment[9]. As such NESREA is charged with the responsibility of enforcing compliance with laws, guidelines, policies, treaties, standards and legislation made on environmental matters by conducting environmental audit.[10] While, this audit to ensure compliance with environmental standards also extends to sectors outside the oil and gas sector, the definition of environmental standards/guidelines is however only limited to reducing pollution, protecting the land, air and water quality as well as chemical safety[11]. The definition does not extend to any form of green washing and this then implies that a company might be audited by NESREA, found compliant by this definition and still green wash.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACT (EIA) 1992
This act as amended sets out the general principles, procedure and methods in order to enable the prior consideration of environmental impact assessment on certain public or private projects[12]. This act basically requires companies to conduct environmental assessments before undertaking projects that may significantly impact the environment. While the EIA Act ensures that environmental impacts are considered before any project commencement, it does not address greenwashing. A company could comply with the EIA and still make deceptive or exaggerated claims about its sustainability activities.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
From the above, it is clear that Nigeria does not have a single law / provision that directly prohibits, let alone punishes greenwashing. should be While, some of these acts or provisions might be interpreted to punish green washing, there isn’t a law that directly addresses this issue.
This article therefore recommends that Nigerian legislators enact laws that directly tackle this issue of green washing. In this law, green washing and all its potential forms should be clearly defined so as to prevent any loopholes and ensure an effective prohibition of the practice. The law as well should oblige all companies to submit quarterly reports in order to access their campaigns, marketing etc. for any form of green washing. Apart from this, strict punishment like hefty fines and imprisonment should be also be put in place for companies who fail to submit these reports and to also deter the act.
This article also recommends the formation of an enforcement agency, different from the Nigerian police, that will directly deal with this issue. The supposed agency is not just to ensure enforcement of the law and the effective punishment of erring companies. The agency will also be charged with the responsibility of reviewing the quarterly reports submitted by companies in order to effectively monitor and ensure companies compliance with the law. The agency is also to be charged with the responsibility of educating the general public on green washing, its effects, how it can be identified and which authority to contact in a case of green washing.
REFERENCE(S):
Vietnam Competition Commission, ‘Consumers Should Be Cautious with “Greenwashed” Products’ (10 October 2025) https://en.vcc.gov.vn/default.aspx?page=news&do=detail&category_id=3e729e1f-c11c-41a1-abd6-783934675014&id=c04d507e-7933-4984-80c7-981ce57fb85d accessed 19 August 2026.
Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, entered into force 4 November 2016) 55 ILM 740
United Nations Industrial Development Organization, ‘What Is the Industry Sector’s Share of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions?’ (Explainer, November 2024) https://decarbonization.unido.org/resources/what-is-the-industry-sectors-share-of-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ accessed 19 August 2026
Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, entered into force 4 November 2016) 55 ILM 740 art 4(13)
Climate Change Act 2021, ss 1,3,4, 34
Climate Change Act 2021 s 24
Climate Change Act 2021 s 35
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (Nigeria)
National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act 2007 (Nigeria) (as amended by Act No 26 of 2018)
NESREA ACT (n1) s 7
NESREA ACT (N1) s 8(k)
Environmental Impact Assessment Act Cap E12 LFN 2004 (Nigeria)
[1] Vietnam Competition Commission, ‘Consumers Should Be Cautious with “Greenwashed” Products’ (10 October 2025) https://en.vcc.gov.vn/default.aspx?page=news&do=detail&category_id=3e729e1f-c11c-41a1-abd6-783934675014&id=c04d507e-7933-4984-80c7-981ce57fb85d
accessed 19 August 2026.
[2] Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, entered into force 4 November 2016) 55 ILM 740
[3] United Nations Industrial Development Organization, ‘What Is the Industry Sector’s Share of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions?’ (Explainer, November 2024)https://decarbonization.unido.org/resources/what-is-the-industry-sectors-share-of-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ accessed 19 August 2026
[4] Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, entered into force 4 November 2016) 55 ILM 740 art 4(13)
[5] Climate Change Act 2021, ss 1,3,4, 34
[6] Climate Change Act 2021 s 24
[7] Climate Change Act 2021 s 35
[8] Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (Nigeria)
[9] National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act 2007 (Nigeria) (as amended by Act No 26 of 2018)
[10] NESREA ACT (n1) s 7
[11]NESREA ACT (N1) s 8(k)
[12] Environmental Impact Assessment Act Cap E12 LFN 2004 (Nigeria)
