FG seeks private capital to fund climate change agenda

The Federal Government has started initiatives to bring in private capital to fund its energy transition and climate change agenda.

To foster this, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and the National Council on Climate Change signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Abuja on Monday to address climate risks.

Speaking on the agreement, the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said, “A core pillar of our environmental, social and governance strategy is to actively build strategic partnerships with relevant organisations to support climate change actions and Nigeria’s energy transition ambitions of achieving net zero emissions by 2060.”

He added that the agreement with NCCC was one of the strategic steps taken to meet NSIA’s social impact goals and sustainability commitments.

The MoU would allow both the NSIA and the NCCC to further explore potential areas of collaboration, which would include the development of a climate change framework to provide guidelines for regulating emissions in Nigeria, the implementation of a carbon emissions trading mechanism in Nigeria, and the management of a national carbon registry as well as a climate change fund.

As part of the agreement signing ceremony, the NSIA released its impact report, which outlined the progress made toward attaining its developmental and socio-economic impact as of 2021.

The NSIA MD added, “NSIA’s maiden impact report highlights the Authority’s development agenda and impact over several years of operations as well as the Authority’s efforts to safeguard the environment and address relevant climate-related risks and opportunities in line best practice.”

In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Dr. Salisu Dahiru, said that the partnership was a bold signal to the global audience that the country was serious about its climate commitments.

He said, “By committing resources from its sovereign wealth fund to support climate action and an inclusive green economic growth, Nigeria is investing in its future, especially in a vastly decarbonising world.

“This partnership between two of Nigeria’s flagship institutions is expected to catalyse private finance to accelerate Nigeria’s ambitious climate and national development agenda.”