The Department of Climate Change (DCC), Federal Ministry of Environment, and the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) has convened a two-day conference to educate stakeholders on government’s intended areas of funding via the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Nigeria’s priority areas of project for the funding include Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency and Coastal Resilience.
The GCF provisioned under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is aimed at promoting low-emissions and climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries by meeting additional costs of climate change related interventions through grants and concessionary financing.
Director of the DCC, Dr. Peter Tarfa, stated that Nigeria stands to benefit $300 to $400m worth of concessionary loan funding, of which 25 per cent will target in-country capacity building and feasibility study support.
He disclosed that a consortium has been saddled with the responsibility of producing a concept note, and to further fund selected project proposal for the purpose of implementing sustainable climate adaptation and mitigation projects in Nigeria.
Speaking at the occasion, Vice Chancellor of the American University of Medical Sciences, Nigeria, Professor Mobolaji Aluko, stressed that the fund which requires the mandatory involvement of the private sector, should focus more on bankable projects rather than grants.
He said: “Selected projects will be structured such that there are commercial based. It is not a grant. The idea is that should the GCF seed funding end, involved stakeholders will want to continue their projects.”
Managing Director of Kazona Maycroft and organizer of the event, Olu Ajayi, informed that projects can come in two forms, “either it’s done from the green field and have private sectors provide the equity section, while the other funding comes from GCF to marry the loan, or it could be an ongoing project that requires further funding.”
Ajayi however assured that loans are long-term and with single digit interest rate.