The debt management office (DMO) of the federal government of Nigeria has announced that it is looking to execute a second green bond issuance – Series II Green Bonds amounting up to N15 billion ($41.64 million).

Through the issue, the government of Nigeria is looking to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the country by up to 20% before 2030, as outlined under the Paris Agreement signed on September 21, 2016.

In 2017, the Nigerian government had issued similar green bonds which amounted to approximately $30 million. With the previous offer, Nigeria became the first African country to raise funds through green bonds.

Through this offer, the federal government is seeking to raise funds to finance projects with green credentials. The eligible green projects can be classified under three themes within the green bond framework, namely: renewable energy, afforestation, and transportation.

The rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a GB1 (Excellent) Green Bond Assessment to the offer. The government also announced that DMO is working with Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited, Capital Assets Limited, Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, and Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited as Financial Advisers/Issuing Houses to the offer.

In February 2019, the International Finance Corporation had announced its commitment to invest $75 million in the first-ever listed green bond issued and guaranteed by AC Energy, the power arm of Philippines based Ayala Corporation.

Last year, Mercom reported on the news of the African Development Bank (AfDB) had approved a $1.5-million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to support the Nigerian government’s implementation of Phase 1 of the Jigawa 1-GW Independent Power Producer Solar Procurement Program.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.