Nigeria Targets $2bn Green Fund to Drive Energy Transition
Nigeria is ramping up its climate finance ambitions as President Bola Tinubu unveiled plans for a $2 billion national climate fund, signalling a stronger push to attract global capital into low-carbon and climate-resilient investments.
Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week summit on Tuesday, Tinubu said rising investor appetite for Nigeria’s green bonds reflects growing confidence in the country’s climate and energy transition strategy.
He disclosed that Nigeria’s Climate Investment Platform is structured to mobilise $500 million for climate-resilient infrastructure, while the proposed National Climate Change Fund is targeting a total capitalisation of $2 billion.
The president also announced that Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement aimed at expanding trade and investment in sectors including renewable energy, aviation, logistics, agriculture, digital trade and climate-smart infrastructure. The agreement is expected to strengthen capital inflows and deepen Nigeria’s integration into global clean-energy value chains.
Tinubu acknowledged that Nigeria continues to face major environmental and policy challenges, particularly in cutting gas flaring and methane emissions, but said these issues are being addressed under the country’s Energy Transition Plan. The plan targets net-zero emissions by 2060 while ensuring universal access to energy and safeguarding economic growth.
He highlighted the strong performance of Nigeria’s green bond programme, noting that a N50 billion sovereign green bond issued in 2025 attracted subscriptions of N91 billion. Lagos State’s green bond, he added, was oversubscribed by nearly 98 per cent, underscoring robust domestic and international investor demand for climate-linked assets.
According to Tinubu, the government is seeking to unlock between $25 billion and $30 billion annually in climate finance to support infrastructure, industrialisation and energy reforms. To support this drive, Nigeria has developed a Climate and Green Industrialisation Investment Playbook designed to give private investors greater clarity on manufacturing policies, incentives and the regulatory environment.
The latest initiative builds on earlier efforts, including the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s $500 million Distributed Renewable Energy Fund launched in March 2025 to boost local financing for clean-energy projects.
Tinubu said recent reforms demonstrate that Nigeria is open to business, noting that non-oil exports have grown by 21 per cent and total investment commitments across key sectors now exceed $50 billion.
He added that the government is prioritising technology partnerships to modernise the national grid, deploy artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, and advance pilot projects in electric mobility and green industrial development.
The president also called for greater reliance on blended finance, which combines public and philanthropic capital with private investment, rather than heavy dependence on sovereign guarantees.
He argued that blended finance structures are better suited to absorbing early-stage risks and avoiding the disproportionate penalisation of emerging economies in global capital markets.
