Sustainability experts have identified sustainability financial instruments like green bonds, sustainability bonds, sustainability financing, climate-tagged investments, and other dedicated grants and investments put together by the national government, private Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investors, as well as foreign investors, as a lever to support climate resilience in Africa, calling for the need to prioritize social finance and development in that continent.
This was announced during a webinar on the topic of “Harnessing Climate Finance Opportunities In Nigeria” that was sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria and organized by the Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN), formerly known as the Association of Sustainability Professionals of Nigeria (ASPN).
This is coming on the backdrop of the official commencement of the implementation of the Climate Change Act 2021, following the approval of the work plan for the National Climate Change Council (NCCC) by President Muhammadu Buhari last February, which is expected to provide a sustainable framework for climate-related activities in Nigeria and also underlines the nation’s commitment to the 2060 Net Zero-Target.
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In his opening remarks, the Head of Sustainability, Media, and External Relations, First Bank, and also the Director of Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations, SPIN, Ismail Omamagbe, asserted that the Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN), which was formerly known as the Association of Sustainability Professionals of Nigeria (ASPN), is a platform that promotes the practice and profession of sustainability in line with global best practice of sustainability in Nigeria, committed to working with all the sustainability professionals and organizations with a goal to deepen, mainstream and complement sustainability practices in the country through standardization, networking, certification, research and advocacy.
The keynote speaker, Obi Ugochukwu, Managing Partner, GCA Capital Partners, opined that in terms of organizing domestic resources, the draft of the NDC, which outlines the targets and measures that represent Nigeria’s contribution to global climate change and also redrafted in 2021 with improved targets; the Medium-Term National Development Plan; the Energy Transition Plan; the Long-Term Vision Plan; and the recent commitment to set up the climate change fund by the banker’s committee, make up the key milestones of Nigeria’s commitment to climate action.
Story adapted from Leadership
