The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said pension funds were the most significant investors in its N10.89bn maiden sovereign green bonds offered in 2018, according to the Green Bond Programme Report, Fiscal Year 2017/2018, submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
According to the distribution by investor provided in the report, pension funds administrators grabbed 73.75% of the total size, followed by “others,” 13.66%; banks, high net worth investors, 10.96%; and fund managers, 1.63%.
The bond, with a five-year tenor was issued the Federal Ministries of Environment (FMEnv), and Finance (FMF), through the Debt Management Office (DMO), after agreeing to include it in the 2017 borrowing plan. It was to finance three eligible projects identified from the Federal Government’s appropriation, having met the Green Bond Principles definition of climate-related activities in rural electrification, renewable energy, and sustainable forestry.
All of the funds have been disbursed, and the projects fully implemented, according to the report,
Specifically, the report listed projects implemented to included developing off-grid independent Power Plant-type projects for the generation and provision of adequate power supply to 37 Federal Universities and 7 Teaching Hospitals across the country. There were also the Phase 1 Solar Project Sites funded under the 2017 Green Bond in seven universities across the country with a cumulative of 12.5MW capacity, in a bid to strengthen electricity distribution. This, it noted, created over 4580 jobs from the construction, operation and maintenance of the power plants.
There was also the Renewable Energy Micro Utility (REMU) project implemented by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to showcase the technical feasibility and commercially off-grid connected mini-grids. It was also to test the application of mini-grid regulation approved by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as well as contribute to achieving Nigeria’s climate change mitigation measures on its National Determined Contribution (NDC) in accordance with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and SDGs goal No 7, among others.
An afforestation programme was implemented by the Forestry Research Institute of
Nigeria, National Agency of Great Green Wall, National Park Service, and the Drought & Desertification Amelioration Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
This increased forest coverage through the plantation of seedlings to cover 841 hectares of land, covering forests/economic trees such as Neem, Khaya, Acacia Senegal, Prosopis, Eucalyptus, Jatropha, Guava, Cashew, Moringa, Mango, Citrus, lemon, Citrus sinensis, and Pawpaw seedlings.
“The programme is helping in the reduction of net emissions and working towards achieving the objectives of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) while also supporting the livelihoods of rural communities,” the report added.
Photo caption: Dignitaries at the listing of the Green bond, July 20, 2018.
