The Federal Government is to issue a N150 billion green bonds programme over the next few months. The information is contained in a report released by Ms Esther Agbarakwe, the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril.
Agbarakwe in the report made available to Daily Trust, said with the June 13th signing of the 2017 budget by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, it has affirmed the allocations to the identified projects.
She explained that the initiative by the ministry and other partners has resulted in a plan to issue a programme of N150 billion in green bonds over the next few months with a pilot issue of N12.384 billion in the third quarter of 2017 and the balance over the course of the budget year.
“The projects are Energizing Education Program (EEP) for N9.5 billion; the Renewable Energy Micro Utility (REMU) for N475m; and the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Afforestation Programme for N2.3 billion for a total of N12.38 billion,” she said.
According to her, the Paris Agreement signed and ratified by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2017 has outlined the aims of the agreement, one of which is “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.”
She noted that the ministry,, under Jibril, has made significant progress in the process that started in September of 2016.
“Collaboration between the Ministry of Environment and Finance and with development partners like the World Bank, African Development Bank and DFID, Nigeria Stock Exchange and other capital market operators has continued to pull together the institutional partners necessary to achieve what would be Nigeria and Africa’s first sovereign green bond and the worlds third,” she added.
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