Decolonising the Climate Change Agenda and Narrative: A Necessity for Fairer Low-Carbon Development in the Global South

This study examines how the climate change agenda can be decolonised to ensure fairer representation of the Global South within Low-Carbon Development (LCD) discourse, with specific reference to Nigeria. The study is situated within growing debates concerning climate justice, coloniality, environmental governance, and the unequal distribution of power within contemporary climate governance frameworks. While Low-Carbon Development has increasingly emerged as a dominant global strategy for addressing climate change, there remains a noticeable deficit in the participation and influence of Global South countries in climate governance decision-making processes. Consequently, many Global South states participate primarily by implementing agreed mitigation targets and governance frameworks rather than by being equally involved in shaping the climate agenda itself.

The study, therefore, interrogates the ideological, epistemological, and institutional obstacles that hinder the decolonisation of climate governance and Low-Carbon Development discourse. A conceptual framework for the analysis was developed, drawing primarily on Bachrach and Baratz’s (1962) two faces of power and Grosfoguel’s conception of decolonisation. The study adopted a qualitative secondary-data approach using theoretical thematic analysis. Three core climate governance documents were analysed: the Paris Agreement, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) on mitigation and Low-Carbon Development, and Nigeria’s Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS).

The findings suggest that contemporary climate governance is strongly shaped by technocratic governance frameworks, positivist epistemologies, developmentalist assumptions, and institutional structures that privilege measurable mitigation pathways, scientific expertise, and globally standardised development models. The analysed documents consistently frame climate change in terms of emissions accountability, institutional coordination, policy regulation, and technological transition. While these approaches provide important mechanisms for climate mitigation and sustainability, the study argues that they may insufficiently engage with historical inequalities, indigenous ecological knowledge systems, and the developmental realities facing many societies in the Global South.

The study further demonstrates that decolonising the climate change agenda requires greater epistemological plurality, stronger inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge systems, and more participatory and context-sensitive approaches to climate governance. It concludes that fairer representation for the Global South requires not only participation within existing governance institutions but also critical engagement with the ideological and institutional assumptions underpinning contemporary climate governance. The study, therefore, recommends greater openness to multiple systems of knowledge production within climate governance and proposes strengthening locally grounded climate research and policy capacity in Nigeria through more inclusive and decolonial approaches.