Nigeria has placed green finance at the core of its national strategy for accelerating its energy transition, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announcing the establishment of a $2 billion National Climate Change Fund during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week summit. The initiative underscores the administration’s push to mobilize large-scale financing—particularly from private investors and international partners—to drive climate‑smart development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking before an audience of global leaders, investors, and policymakers, Tinubu explained that the new fund is designed to catalyze projects aimed at cutting emissions, strengthening climate resilience, and supporting sustainable growth across the country. The government’s ambition, he said, is to raise the full $2 billion through a combination of domestic and foreign investment.
Complementing the fund, Nigeria’s Climate Investment Platform is expected to attract at least $500 million dedicated to climate-resilient infrastructure, covering sectors such as energy, transportation, agriculture, and water systems. Together, the two initiatives represent one of the country’s most coordinated attempts to expand climate financing.
Tinubu highlighted growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s sustainability commitments, citing the strong performance of recent climate‑linked securities. The Federal Government’s 2025 sovereign green bond, initially targeted at ₦50 billion (approximately $38 million), ultimately drew ₦91 billion in bids. Similarly, a Lagos State climate bond was nearly 98% oversubscribed. Independent market data has corroborated this trend, showing consistently high subscription levels for Nigeria’s green bond issuances and signalling healthy appetite for environmentally aligned investment instruments.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s long-term climate goals, Tinubu reiterated the country’s dedication to its Energy Transition Plan, which envisions achieving net‑zero emissions by 2060 while simultaneously expanding access to reliable power for households and businesses. In pursuit of these objectives, the federal government is working to reduce methane emissions, curb gas flaring, and modernize the electricity grid through advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence. Pilot initiatives in electric mobility and green industrialization form additional pillars of the transition agenda.
The summit also saw Nigeria sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates. This wide‑ranging pact aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in renewable energy, aviation, logistics, agriculture, digital trade, and climate-resilient infrastructure. According to official statements, CEPA will promote technology transfer, expand investment flows, and support joint efforts in sustainable development.
During his address, President Tinubu underscored the critical role of blended finance, which combines public, philanthropic, and private capital to make green projects more attractive to investors. He argued that this approach is more sustainable than relying on traditional sovereign guarantees—mechanisms that often impose heavy financial burdens on emerging economies and limit their fiscal flexibility.
The newly announced climate initiatives build on Nigeria’s earlier efforts to deepen green finance domestically. In March 2025, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority launched a $500 million Distributed Renewable Energy Fund to expand local financing for clean energy projects. Tinubu noted that broader economic policy reforms have since facilitated a 21% increase in non‑oil exports and attracted over $50 billion in investment commitments across multiple sectors.
Nigeria’s intensified push into climate finance aligns with global momentum toward supporting sustainable energy transitions, particularly in developing economies with large populations, expanding energy needs, and heightened vulnerability to climate risks. By unveiling its new initiatives at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Abuja is signaling both its readiness to collaborate with international partners and its ambition to leverage global capital flows to advance its climate objectives alongside broader economic development goals.
