Lagos — September 4, 2025 — Nigeria’s elevation to BRICS partner country earlier this year is already reshaping the contours of international finance and industrial cooperation — and for the nation’s environmental industry the implications are immediate and material. Access to new sources of finance, deepening technology links with Brazil, China and India, and a block-wide push for more equitable climate finance create opportunities to scale renewable energy, waste management, water infrastructure and pollution-control projects. Nigeria’s BRICS Breakthrough: What It Means for the Environmental Industry, it means they also bring fresh governance and currency risks that industry players and policymakers must manage.
Table of Contents
A strategic opening
On January 17, 2025, Brazil — the then-pro tempore BRICS chair — formally announced Nigeria’s acceptance as the grouping’s ninth partner country, a status created at the 2024 Kazan summit to broaden BRICS’ engagement with emerging economies without the obligations of full membership. The designation was hailed by Abuja as a boost to South–South cooperation and an expanded access route to investment and technical programs.
The BRICS leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6–7, 2025, reinforced that pivot toward climate and sustainable development: the bloc adopted a joint declaration emphasizing fairer climate finance for the Global South and highlighted the New Development Bank (NDB) and other multilateral mechanisms as channels for green investment. The summit’s program explicitly included environment and COP30 coordination as central agenda items.
Where the money could come from – Nigeria’s BRICS Breakthrough: What It Means for the Environmental Industry
A practical effect of deeper BRICS engagement is more varied financing options for green infrastructure. The New Development Bank has been expanding its green portfolio — notably pricing a US$1.25 billion green bond in late 2024 — and continues to develop instruments meant to fund renewables, sustainable transport, water and sanitation projects. That track record means Nigerian project sponsors and state governments may be able to tap concessional or low-cost debt for projects that previously struggled to meet bankability tests.
Beyond NDB issuances, BRICS members are pursuing trade and currency arrangements that can reduce dependence on dollar funding and lower FX exposure for domestic infrastructure. Non-dollar settlement mechanisms and local-currency co-financing — if structured for project-level needs — would materially improve the economics of capital-intensive environmental projects such as waste-to-energy plants, coastal protection works and large wastewater-treatment facilities.
Technology transfer, value chains and sectoral lift
Partnerships emerging from BRICS ties are likely to speed technology transfer across sectors directly relevant to Nigeria’s environmental industry:
• Renewables & grids: Chinese and Indian manufacturers and engineering firms are already competitive in solar, storage, and grid-firming technologies. Increased BRICS cooperation could accelerate deployment of utility-scale and distributed renewables, backed by EPC contracts and concessional finance.
• Waste management & circular economy: Nigeria faces chronic urban waste and e-waste problems. Interest from BRICS partners in recycling and waste-to-energy presents opportunities for private-sector PPPs, local recycling capacity and job creation — if projects conform to environmental safeguards and local-content requirements.
• Sustainable agriculture & watershed management: Brazil’s experience in turning marginal lands productive and scaling mechanized, climate-smart agriculture is potentially transferrable. Recent Nigeria–Brazil cooperation packages — including a $1 billion deal signed in June 2025 for agriculture, energy and capacity building — could channel practical know-how into soil conservation, irrigation and bioenergy feedstock programs. Reuters
Regulatory and standards pressure — a higher compliance floor
BRICS-linked financing and partnerships are not unconditional. Multilateral and bilateral projects increasingly include environmental and social safeguards, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements, and procurement transparency clauses. For Nigeria, that raises the bar for project preparation — environmental impact assessments (EIAs), stakeholder consultation, biodiversity offsets and labour standards — and creates demand for local consulting, compliance, and monitoring firms. Firms that can demonstrate robust ESIA capabilities, independent monitoring, and community-engagement records will be more competitive for BRICS-backed tenders.
Opportunities for local industry
If Nigeria and its states prepare bankable project pipelines, the environmental industry stands to benefit in several ways:
- Lowered capital costs for large green projects — reducing the hurdle rate for private investment in waste treatment, sanitation plants, stormwater management and coastal defenses.
- Expanded market for compliance and MRV services — consultancy, environmental labs, emissions monitoring and certification bodies.
- Industrialisation of green value chains — potential for local assembly of solar components, battery recycling, e-waste refurbishment and maintenance services.
- Rural and agri-environment opportunities — climate-smart agricultural services, reforestation and watershed restoration financed through blended BRICS windows. Reuters
Risks and caveats
Despite the promise, important risks remain:
- Debt and contingent liabilities. Any new financing must be transparent and matched to realistic revenue streams; poorly structured deals could heighten public debt vulnerability.
- Currency risk. While local-currency mechanisms are being discussed, many transactions will continue to involve foreign currencies; FX volatility could undermine project economics unless hedging or local-currency facilities are available.
- Implementation capacity. Nigeria’s frequent challenges with project execution — procurement delays, coordination gaps and institutional capacity constraints — could blunt early wins unless Abuja strengthens pipeline preparation and intergovernmental coordination.
- ESG and community impact. Rapid roll-out without rigorous safeguards risks social conflict and litigation, especially on land-use, waste facilities and large infrastructure. Robust ESIAs and transparent procurement will be essential.
What policymakers and industry should do next
For Nigeria’s environmental sector to fully capitalize on BRICS engagement, three strategic moves are critical:
- Pipeline readiness: Federal and state authorities should accelerate bankable project preparation — clear feasibility studies, robust ESIAs and revenue models — to be “deal-ready” for NDB or bilateral finance.
- Strengthen local compliance capacity: Invest in accredited environmental labs, MRV systems and certification bodies to meet expected BRICS finance safeguards.
- Use blended finance smartly: Combine concessional BRICS funds with private capital and domestic green bonds to spread risk and maximise local value creation.
Bottom line
Nigeria’s inclusion as a BRICS partner country and the bloc’s renewed emphasis on climate finance mark a potentially transformative chapter for the country’s environmental industry. The combination of new financing channels, South–South technical partnerships (especially with Brazil, China and India), and an appetite for green-bond instruments could unlock a wave of projects across waste, water, renewables and sustainable agriculture. The prize is sizable — cheaper capital, technology transfer and job creation — but realising it will demand better project preparation, stronger institutions and disciplined governance to manage financial, environmental and social risks. How quickly Nigerian policymakers and industry respond will determine whether BRICS becomes a catalyst for resilient green growth or just another source of headline promise.