Following the country’s successful debut green bond issuance of N10.69 billion in December 2017 and N15 billion Series II Green Bond in 2019, Nigeria is set to undertake a third tranche of the green bond programme of up to N25 billion to fund environmental projects.
The Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, said the proceeds will be used to finance power, afforestation, deforestation water, energy, agriculture among other projects, saying that “we are moving to smart agriculture to produce more foods with minimal impact on the environment.”
Speaking at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), on Thursday, the Minister added that the Series III Green Bond issuance would further demonstrate the government’s commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent unconditional and 45 per cent conditional by 2030, as outlined under the Paris Agreement signed on 21 September 2016.
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According to the Minister, the green bond and the issue of climate change is the defining issue of our time and today we are for the process of issuing the third tranche, which is towards financing green project.
He stated that: “Green project are what we need today because of the climate issue we as a country is facing, we need to change our environment through solid waste management, turning waste to wealth, wasting to resources, these are all the things we need green bond to finance.”
Capital market operators described the issuance of the green bond as an opportunity to boost Nigeria’s economic development.
Managing director APT Securities and Funds Limited, Garba Kurfi, said the issuance of green bond has enriched the nation’s bourse in terms of product diversity and market capitalisation.
According to Kurfi, green bonds present countries with an opportunity to demonstrate national leadership in the green financing agenda.
He added that it would open new investors’ base and strengthen the country’s commitment to complying with the Paris climate change agreement.
Kurfi also said that it would help in moderating climate change by investing in solar plants, hydropower and agriculture against the backdrop that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s export income comes from crude oil.
It will be recalled that the second Sovereign Green Bond offered for N15 billion auctioned in June 2019 by the Nigerian government via the Debt Management Office (DMO) recorded success.
During the exercise, the debt office offered N15 billion worth of the environment-friendly papers, but subscriptions valued at N32.93 billion, representing 220 per cent, were received from interested investors.
It was gathered that the number of subscribers doubled when compared with the figure for the first Sovereign Green Bond issued in December 2017.