NSIA Partners NCCC to Unlock Private Sector Finance to Tackle Climate Change

•Releases maiden development impact report

James Emejo in Abuja

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) yesterday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to address climate risks and enable the attainment of the shared objectives of both parties.

The partnership was expected to catalyse private finance to accelerate Nigeria’s ambitious climate and national development agenda.

The ceremony also witnessed the launch of NSIA’s maiden Impact Report (IR), which highlights the development impact of its operations and investments since inception.

The report shows that the authority delivered impactful initiatives consistent with the target outcomes for 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

It further outlines the progress made toward the attainment of the authority’s developmental and socio-economic impact as of 2021.

Among other things, the MoU serves to allow the signing parties to further explore potential areas of collaboration including the development of a climate change framework to provide guidelines for regulating emissions in Nigeria; implementation of a carbon emissions trading mechanism in Nigeria, and management of a national carbon registry as well as a Climate Change Fund.

Speaking at the occasion, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NSIA, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) represented a core pillar of NSIA’s strategy to actively build strategic partnerships with relevant organisations to support climate change actions and Nigeria’s energy transition ambitions of achieving net zero emissions by 2060.

He said the agreement with NCCC was one of the strategic steps taken to meet its social impact goals and sustainability commitments.

He said, “Together, we will leverage our respective strengths, knowledge, and resources to develop and implement comprehensive climate change strategies. Our collaboration will span a range of areas, including the development of Nigeria’s climate change framework, guidelines for the regulation of carbon emissions, the development of a national carbon registry and a carbon emissions trading mechanism.

“By collaborating with the National Council on Climate Change, we demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding our natural resources, protecting vulnerable communities, and fostering a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.”

Umar-Sadiq also explained that the, “NSIA’s maiden Impact Report highlights the authority’s development agenda and impact over several years of operations as well as the authority’s efforts to safeguard the environment and address relevant climate-related risks and opportunities in line with best practice.”

According to him, the IR is a comprehensive assessment of the authority’s investments, operations, and achievements.

“It presents a detailed analysis of our performance across various asset classes, our commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and highlights our contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth and development, job creation, and social welfare.

“The launch of NSIA’s Impact Report is not merely a reflection of our achievements. It is also a call to action, a challenge to ourselves and our partners to do more and do better.

“On an annual basis, we intend to keep strengthening our reporting, and foster a culture that recognises risks and opportunities from climate change challenges and sustainability efforts throughout the authority, its affiliates, and associate companies.”

On his part, Director General of NCCC, Dr. Salisu Dahiru, said the partnership was a bold signal to the global audience that the federal government was serious about its climate commitments.

He said by committing resources from its sovereign wealth fund to support climate action and inclusive green economic growth, Nigeria is investing in its future, especially in a vastly decarbonising world.

He said, “This partnership between two of Nigeria’s flagship institutions is expected to catalyse private finance to accelerate Nigeria’s ambitious climate and national development agenda”.

Dahiru commended the transformational leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari by demonstrating executive ownership of Nigeria’s climate policies through the Climate Change Act of 2021, the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change and the commitment toward a net zero economy by 2060.

He also urged Nigerians to embrace the opportunities offered by climate change to build a resilient economy and improve the adaptive capacities of our communities to extreme weather events, now and in the future.