Nigeria to issue N150bn green bonds in 2018 – Official

Following increased calls for climate funding, Ahmad Salihijo, technical assistant to the Minister of Environment, has said that the ministry planned to issue N150 billion green bonds to the public.
Salihijo revealed this in a panel discussion on Making Climate Finance Work for Women and Non-State Actors, in Lagos.
Green bonds, also known as climate bonds, are fixed income securities issued to finance projects that have positive impact on the environment and provide solution to change.
Nigeria’s debut issuance of Green bonds was part of many efforts directed towards its Paris-based NDC commitments.
He said that following the success of debut issuance of N10.69 billion bonds issued in 2017, the ministry was now targeting the issuance of N150 billion green bonds in 2018.
The technical adviser revealed that proceeds from the green bonds were channelled into three major projects.
“We came up with guidelines for the green bonds, where we categorised the use of proceeds. We were able to advice other Ministries, Departments, and Departments (MDAs) on how to place these bonds.
“As at today, green bonds have issued N10.6 billion over three projects.
“The first project was the Energising Education Project registered with the Federal Ministry of Power under the Rural Electrification Agency, the second project was the Rural Electrification Municipal Project also under the Federal Ministry of Power and the third project was the Afforestation Project, which is registered under the Federal Ministry Of Environment,” he said.
Salihijo said that the success of the green bonds in Nigeria had resulted in a positive assessment by the International Climate Bond Initiatives, where the country is rated as the only country in Africa with such certification.
A green bond is a tax-exempt bond issued by federally qualified organisations or by municipalities for development.