Nigeria is turning to green finance to advance its energy transition, with President Bola Tinubu unveiling plans on Tuesday for a $2 billion climate fund, citing strong investor appetite demonstrated by oversubscribed green bond issuances.
Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week summit, Tinubu said Nigeria’s Climate Investment Platform is designed to mobilise $500 million for climate-resilient infrastructure, while the National Climate Change Fund is targeting a total capitalisation of $2 billion to support projects that reduce emissions and strengthen climate resilience, according to Reuters.
At the same event, the president announced that Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates had signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement aimed at expanding trade and investment across multiple sectors, including renewable energy, aviation, logistics, agriculture, digital trade and climate-smart infrastructure.
Nigeria continues to face significant environmental and climate policy challenges, such as cutting gas flaring and methane emissions, as it implements its Energy Transition Plan. The plan targets net-zero emissions by 2060 while also delivering universal access to energy.
Don’t Miss This:
NGX Begins Week Higher With N745bn Gain
Tinubu pointed to the success of Nigeria’s green bond programme as evidence of investor confidence. A 50 billion naira sovereign green bond issued in 2025 attracted subscriptions of 91 billion naira, while Lagos State’s green bond was oversubscribed by nearly 98 percent, he said.
He added that the government is seeking to unlock between $25 billion and $30 billion annually in climate finance. To support this effort, a new Climate and Green Industrialisation Investment Playbook will be introduced to help private investors and other stakeholders navigate manufacturing policies and the regulatory environment.
The latest initiatives build on earlier efforts, including the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s $500 million Distributed Renewable Energy Fund, launched in March 2025 to stimulate local financing for clean energy projects.
“These reforms show Nigeria is ready for business,” Tinubu said, noting that non-oil exports have increased by 21 percent and that investment commitments now exceed $50 billion across key sectors.
He added that Nigeria is prioritising technology partnerships to modernise its electricity grid and deploy artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, alongside pilot projects in electric mobility and green industrialisation.
The president also called for greater use of blended finance, which combines public and philanthropic capital with private investment and can absorb early losses if projects underperform, arguing that this approach is preferable to sovereign guarantees, which he said unfairly penalise emerging economies.
Don’t Miss This:
Nigeria’s Crude Oil Production Averages 1.64 Mb/d In 2025
Image Credit: The Africa Report
