Carbon footprint Assessment and Green Economy transition in Nigerian Academic Libraries: A Multi-Scale Spatial, Temporal, and Socio-Political Analysis

Academic libraries in Nigeria contribute significantly to carbon emissions through energy-intensive operations, heavy reliance on diesel generators, grid electricity, and digital infrastructure, yet there is limited comprehensive assessment of their carbon footprint and weak adoption of green practices, hindering the country's green economy transition and sustainable development goals. Objective: This study aimed to comprehensively examine carbon footprint assessment methodologies and green economy promotion strategies in Nigerian academic libraries across spatial, temporal, and socio-political scales. Method: The research evaluated emissions in twenty-one academic libraries spanning Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones over a thirty-six-month period (2022–2025) using the GHG Protocol framework and STM Digital Carbon Calculator for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. It employed mixed-methods including quantitative emission measurements, infrastructure audits, multi-scale spatial and temporal trend analyses, and qualitative policy and stakeholder assessments. Results: Findings revealed substantial spatial variations, with northern libraries showing higher Scope 1 emissions (mean = 127.3 tCO₂e annually) due to diesel dependency and southern libraries recording elevated Scope 2 emissions (mean = 89.6 tCO₂e annually) from grid electricity. Temporal analysis indicated a 12.3% annual emission increase from 2022 to 2024, followed by an 8.7% reduction in 2024–2025 after interventions. Digital infrastructure accounted for 15–23% of total emissions with rising trends, while only 28.6% of libraries had implemented renewable energy systems. Socio-political analysis highlighted fragmented governance, inconsistent policy enforcement, and limited stakeholder participation. Conclusions: The results imply that despite some progress, high capital costs, inadequate expertise, unreliable power supply, and weak policies continue to constrain green transitions in Nigerian academic libraries. The study recommends establishing mandatory carbon reporting protocols, creating dedicated green library funding mechanisms, developing regional renewable energy cooperatives, implementing phased energy-efficient programmes, and strengthening multi-stakeholder governance to support Nigeria’s green economy goals.