The National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) has held a two-day hybrid stakeholder engagement as part of efforts to chart a clear roadmap for the operationalisation of Nigeria’s Climate Change Fund.
The event, which held on the 3rd – 4th of March, in Abuja, aimed at structuring the fund in a way that attracts global climate financing and supports the country’s net-zero ambitions.
Speaking at the event, Nkiruka Maduekwe, the Director-General of NCCC and Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, stressed the urgency of establishing the fund, which remains inactive despite being mandated by the 2021 Climate Change Act.
Maduekwe highlighted that the fund would position Nigeria to attract financing from international sources such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global Environment Facility (GEF), and Adaptation Fund, among others.
She emphasized the need for a structured approach to prevent greenwashing while ensuring Nigeria meets its 2070 net-zero target.
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She said, “the Climate Change Fund, professionalising the Climate Change Fund is very important because that’s to provide you very clearly where we are going to get integration finance and adaptation finance from the country,”. “And so for us as the Secretariat, this is a long time coming,”.
She noted that from 2022 to date, one of the key things is operationalising the Climate Change Fund and that hasn’t happened yet.
“And so for us, it is important, it is urgent that the Climate Change Fund is operationalised,”. “But how do you operationalise something with nothing? And so this stakeholder engagement is very key to taking the feedback, co-creating the pathway for the Climate Change Fund and understanding that this is the path that Nigeria wants to take with regards to the architecture of the fund, the different windows, with satellite innovation, adaptation, operations.
“With this fund, we are looking forward to getting finance from GCF, GES, Adaptation Fund, the loss and damage,” she concluded.
Story was adapted from Vanguard.
