FG to Issue First Tranche of N10.69bn Green Bond Monday

The federal government will on Monday issue the Green Bond worth N10.69 billion to finance some aspects of the 2017 budget.

The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mrs. Patience Oniha, disclosed this during a forum with investors seeking to subscribe to the bond.

At the forum were investors from Pension Funds Administrators, Federal Ministry of Finance, Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change; Nigerian Stock Exchange, Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, World Bank, Chapel Hill Denham, and other private sector representatives.

The DMO boss said the bond is part of government’s effort to align with the global objective of expanding the market for climate finance.

This, she added is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to support Nigeria’s transition towards a low carbon, green economy.

She said Green bonds have been the subject of increasing government and investor interest, driven by the prospect of matching large low‑carbon investment requirements with global bond markets held by institutional investors.

According to her: “The federal government is at that stage where it is about issuing the Green Bond for N10.69bn.

“We are meeting the people who will invest in the bonds to sensitise them about the bond programme.

“Government is going to use the money from Green bonds for specific projects. It is for green projects that have been classified as green and it’s also project-tied.

“So, it’s not money going to government for general spending, it is going for specific projects that have significant benefits for the environment.”

The DMO DG explained that the delay in issuing the bond was as a result of many processes involved in floating the instruments.

She said: “There are several process that you have to go through before the bond is issued.
“For instance, Moody has rated the projects as being qualified for green instruments and it’s a process we have to go through. But now, definitely next week we are issuing the green bonds”
The Minister for State, Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, said the negative impact of climate change on the country had made it imperative for the issuance of a financing instrument that would address the problems.

According to her, “Climate Change is real and business, government and the capital market need to work together to slow its effects.

“This pilot green bond, which we expect to be the first of many more, has developed the platform to address the nation’s target of reducing its emissions by 20 per cent unconditionally and 45 per cent conditionally by 2030.”