Importance of Eco-Entrepreneurship as a Tool for Climate Action and LowCarbon Transition in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change poses socio-economic, legal and environmental vulnerabilities such as land degradation, biodiversity loss, loss of property and livelihood, increase poverty rate and a threat to public health. These impacts are said to only intensify with projected increase in population and global economic growth. Hence, global consensus advocate for decarbonisation and low carbon transition in all economic sectors as an effective mitigation strategy for climate change. In an attempt to lower carbon emissions, leading cooperation’s and organizations have focused on mitigation projects that regulate activities of cooperate actors and big CO2 emitters such as the oil and gas conglomerates. However, the United Nation Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) promotes a transformative bottom-up approach to address climate change via localism and citizen participation to educate and train eco-entrepreneurs or ecopreneurs who participate and engage in strategic entrepreneurship projects designed to actively decarbonize economies. These ecopreneurs generate home-grown sustainabilityfocused small and medium scale eco-enterprises (SMEEs), also called energy citizens, ecological citizens, energy communities and co-operatives that can develop sustainable business model innovations, nature-based services and solutions, sustainable business management strategies, technologies and green jobs needed to drive the low carbon transition in key CO2 -emitting economic sectors such as the energy, agriculture, transportation, waste management, food, tourism, building and architecture and fashion industries. This article examines the characteristics, nature and benefits of eco-entrepreneurship as a tool for advancing climate action and low carbon energy transition. Using Nigeria as a case study, a profile of the barriers slowing the growth of eco-entrepreneurship is identified within the PESTEL framework. Furthermore, drawing examples from the U.K. governance landscape and portfolio, recommendations on a transformative yet contextual strategy captured in the five transformative features (diversity, connectivity, polycentricity, redundancy and directionality) are made to interrogate and overcome entrepreneurial ecosystem barriers towards successfully supporting the rapid growth of eco-entrepreneurship.