NESG advocates shift to implementation to unlock climate investment opportunities in Nigeria 

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has urged an urgent shift from commitments to implementation to unlock climate investment opportunities in the country.

NESG stated this during its National Green Growth Dialogue themed “From Commitments to Green Growth”, held virtually on Thursday, to accelerate Nigeria’s transition from climate pledges to practical, investable action.

The conversation brought together senior government officials, private-sector executives, development partners, and technical experts to address the critical gaps preventing Nigeria from converting its climate commitments, including the Net Zero Investment Plan, Climate Change Act, and national climate strategies, into bankable projects and measurable economic outcomes.

“Discussions underscored that Nigeria’s climate and net-zero ambitions require substantial financing over the coming decade. Most of this investment is expected to come from private capital, commercial financing, and carbon markets, highlighting the urgency of private-sector alignment and the development of investable project pipelines,” NESG said in a statement issued after the dialogue.

The group noted that although the Climate Change Fund was legally established, essential operational components remained outstanding.

“These include governance arrangements, capitalisation plans, allocation rules, financing windows, and project selection criteria. Participants emphasised the importance of finalising the Fund’s business plan to enable effective climate finance mobilisation,” it added.

The NESG further said that the dialogue identified gaps in both vertical coordination (federal → zonal → state) and horizontal coordination across ministries and agencies responsible for climate-related sectors, noting that structures mandated under the Climate Change Act had not yet been fully operationalised, slowing the implementation of national climate priorities.

According to the group, Finima Nature Park was highlighted as a model for nature-as-infrastructure, demonstrating benefits such as coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and significant carbon sequestration potential.

“Participants called for natural capital accounting, valuation frameworks, and blended finance instruments to scale nature-based solutions nationwide,” the statement added.

The NESG noted that despite mobilising most of the required climate finance, private-sector actors still face barriers, including policy uncertainty, fragmented coordination platforms, limited risk-mitigation instruments, and insufficient pipelines of bankable green projects.

To deepen private-sector engagement, the group disclosed that the National Business Action Plan (BAP) for Biodiversity would be launched on 16 September 2026 to equip businesses with tools for biodiversity management, nature-related reporting, subsidy alignment, and access to emerging biodiversity finance mechanisms.

The dialogue recommended immediate, short-term and long-term actions, including operationalising zonal and state climate coordination structures, developing standardised bankable project templates, mobilising private investment toward the national climate pipeline, and integrating nature-based solutions into national infrastructure planning, among others.