About three months after stakeholders assembled in Kaduna to brainstorm on ways to actualise the Third National Communication (TNC), participants yet again converged on Lagos on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, this time to engage with investors.
For two days (from Wednesday, July 26 to Thursday, July 27, 2017) in the Kaduna State capital city, stakeholders explored ways to establish and institutionalise thematic working groups that will serve as the hub for the TNC data sources and possibly map out other areas for data collection. The occasion was the Stakeholders’ Follow-up Workshop Towards Preparation of Nigeria’s TNC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The purpose of the Kaduna meeting was to also collate and incorporate the views and pertinent information of the stakeholders in the TNC. However, the organised private sector (OPS) and financial institutions, according to the promoters, were not fully represented at the two-day gathering.
In a bid to address the anomaly and ensure that the TNC is a true reflection of the activities of all the stakeholders of the country’s economy, the Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday held the daylong forum themed: “Engagement with Organised Private Sector on the Importance of Climate Finance in Econpmic Development of Nigeria and Role of Country Documents in Providing Access.”
A National Communication is an update prepared periodically and submitted by countries who are Parties to the UNFCCC on efforts they undertake towards combating climate change. This is to meet the ultimate objective of the Convention, which is “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. Nigeria is presently preparing the third in the series of National Communications.
Engendered by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Lagos dialogue, which featured representatives of banks and other financial institutions and other private sector players, saw the consultants to the TNC, Messers Triple’E’ Systems Limited, providing salient information to the financial institutions on National Communications.
Besides presenting an update on the preparation of the TNC, information on available global climate finance tools and how they can be accessed was also made available to the investors.
Similarly, participants brainstormed on the necessary country documents (NAMAs, INDC, BUR and NC) that must be put in place by Nigeria before the global climate finance can be accessed.
While NAMAs implies Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, INDC indicates Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, BUR means Biennial Update Report , and NC stands for National Communication.
Participants eventually developed a sustainable framework through which the views of the financial institutions will be regularly mainstreamed into Nigeria climate change dialogue and policies.
Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a goodwill address, said: “We commend the organisers of this forum for engaging the private sector, which is the engine of growth in this process. In particular, the industrial sector is a critical factor in the issue of carbon emission; the consequences of which has incrementally resulted in global warming.
“Today, it is interesting to note that, across the globe, the issue of taming global warming has become a priority item of governments at all levels. This is why this forum is coming at an appropriate time and the articulation of this workshop is commendable.”
He pointed out that, around the world, uncertainty remains over the present and potential damage of global warming as well as unforeseen geological de-stabilisation and carbon dioxide leakages into marine and terrestrial environments.
“Some advanced countries are finding it very difficult to contain this menace despite their prowess in technology and environmental sciences,” even as he urged members of MAN and other private sector stakeholders “to cooperate and collaborate with the Technical Team by providing the necessary information that will facilitate the preparation of an acceptable National Communication for Nigeria which will give us access to requisite international funding resources that are available for countries across the world as a necessary condition for addressing the menace of carbon emission.”
Prof Felix Dayo, CEO of Triple’E’ Systems, in a presentation titled: “Access to Climate Change Finance for Nigeria’s Economic Development: The roles that organised private sector (OPS) can play”, emphasised that funding requirements for undertakings such as reallocating resources and developing and adopting cleaner, more efficient technologies are immense and require the determination and power of investors, large asset owners, and public and private banks.
“As climate risk becomes recognised as critical to banks, investors want to know whether this risk is being managed well and at the highest levels of the organisation,” he stressed, adding that global trends have implications on sectors like power generation, transport, manufacturing, telecommunications, agriculture, housing, banking and insurance.
He lamented that Nigeria has not been successful in accessing majority of the existing international climate funds for the benefit of the country.
Prof Dayo, however, added: “Few times in the last two years, Nigeria has featured in submissions to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board as part of programme funding:
- IFC Green Bond Program (Programme Pulled By IFC)
- GEEREF II (No Letter of No Objection from Nigeria)
- GCF Board recently approved Deutsche Bank and 12 other Financial Institutions Proposal for Climate Funding – Nigeria was one of the recipient countries.
- At the last GCF Board meeting (B18: September 29 to October 3, 2017), Nigeria was included in a programme covering five countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria).
“Nigeria has not fared very well in gaining access to climate finance. There are barriers working against this access which the OPS can assist in addressing,” he said, listing key barriers to include: information, economic, technological, regulatory, financial, and absence of enabling environment and documentation.
Lagos-based environment expert, Prince Lekan Fadina, underscored the need for Nigeria to access climate finance as, according to him, jobs of the future will be characterised by the transition towards low carbon economies, automation, as well as effective utilisation of natural resources.
Fadina, who is Executive Director, Centre For Investment, Sustainable Development, Management & Environment (CISME), stressed that Nigeria must invest in its human capital development in order to allow it tackle its challenges which include climate change.
“This effort requires key investment in capacity building and acquisition of low carbon technologies, among other needs,” he said.
