“Nigeria is committed to sustainable economic development. The Lagos event is a concrete step in the process of developing and issuing our 2017 Sovereign Green Bonds programme.”
Those are the assuring words of Amina Mohammed, the Minister of Environment, as the nation’s aspiration to become a green economy inches closer.
This is courtesy of a forum that pits Federal Government officials with investors and capital market operators. Themed “Green Bonds: Investing in Nigeria’s Sustainable Development”, the flagship Green Bond Conference is holding at the instance of the Federal Ministry Environment, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office, in Lagos on Thursday, February 23 2017.
Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State will grace the occasion, which will feature panel discussions, exhibitions and paper presentation.
The Sovereign Green Bonds project is part of a strategic process by the Federal Government to add to the nation’s funding options to catalyse the rebound of the economy and offer Nigerians a new alternative.
It was gathered that the Green Bonds issuance will be the first stage in enabling Nigerians tap into the growing global market for Green Bonds which, as at the end of 2016, comprised of $576 billion of unlabeled climate-aligned bonds and $118 billion of labeled green bonds.
“A sovereign green bond represents a new stage in development of the Nigerian capital market and opens the way for further corporate issuance and international investment. The NSE is playing a key role to help develop this enormous opportunity for Nigeria and fulfill one of our key objectives as a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative,” says Oscar N. Onyema, CEO of Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Nigeria’s first Green Bond issuance will be the first ever sovereign issuance in an emerging market, says Ms. Mohammed, adding that the initiative present an opportunity and that the investors conference for Nigeria’s first Green Bond issuance is timely.
Ms. Mohammed and the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had on January 12, 2017 inaugurated a Public Private Advisory Group Meeting on the Green Bonds, and event that consolidated a Stakeholders’ Consultation held earlier.
