By Patricia Amogu
The Federal Government has urged more private sectors, corporate organisations and government outfits to embrace green bond projects that will develop the economy and reduce global warming.
Hajia Halima Bawa-Bwari, Director, Department of Climate Change, made the call during a one day
stakeholders engagement on the green bond implementation program organised by the Ministry of Environment in Abuja.
Bawa-Bwari, represented by Mr Jonah Barde stated that the meeting was initiated as a sort of sensitization to everyone including federal outfits to understand better how they could embrace green bond projects.
We also want to access the progress made so far on green bonds. The Federal Government so far has issued two sovereign green bonds to the private sector between 2017 to 2018.
The Federal Government Green Bond Policy is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement,
Nationally Determined Contributions,
as well as Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, she said.
Bawa-Bwari said that the green bond was in line with the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Its goal is to reduce the emission of the green house gas that causes global change, to reduce global warming.
MDAs should come up with activities that are sustainably viable, she said.
Daminabo Emmanuel,
Team Consultant, said the stakeholders engagement was with the objective of bringing together the sovereign and the private sector segments of the market to discuss.
The Federal Government so far has issued two green bonds. Implementing the projects requires creation of jobs for schools. Post implementation also helps to create jobs.
The project so far has helped to create jobs and there are taxes which are indirect returns for the government.
The green bond project is an open market, if the Federal Government borrows, it borrows to fund their projects, the projects create a lot of jobs and also grows the economy, Emmanuel said.
Mrs Bernadette Ejiofor, the Desk Officer, Climate Finance unit presented a paper titled Retrospective- Green bond issuance in Nigeria.
Ejiofor said that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) needed to make green their budgets and make them more viable for green bond issuances.
Nigerian Government taps into the growing markets for green bonds as part of funding its national development, the economic recovery and growth plan, and the targets in its nationally determined contribution.
We should take into cognisance the environmental criteria that would promote access to green bonds.
We are trying to create awareness, especially amongst the private sector to go ahead and explore the green bonds, she said.
Ejiofor added that if more MDAs would come up with environment friendly projects they could access more green bond issuances.(NAN)
Source: NAN News