NSIA, Climate Change Council sign MoU on emissions regulations in Nigeria

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) to ensure the development of a climate change framework and provide guidelines for regulating emissions in Nigeria.

Speaking on Monday during the signing ceremony, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIA, said the agreement was made due to the urgency to address climate risks.

Umar-Sadiq said the collaboration would go a long way in ensuring the development and implementation of strategies to support climate change actions and energy transition.

He added that through the partnership, the implementation of a carbon emissions trading mechanism in the country, management of a national carbon registry as well as a climate change fund will be facilitated.

“A core pillar of our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy is to actively build strategic partnerships with relevant organisations to support climate change actions and Nigeria’s energy transition ambitions of achieving net zero emissions by 2060,” Umar-Sadiq said.

“The agreement with our partner, NCCC is one of the strategic steps we are taking to meet our social impact goals and sustainability commitments.”

Meanwhile, the NSIA CEO also announced the launch of the agency’s maiden edition of its impact report (IR).

According to Umar-Sadiq, the report outlines the progress made towards the attainment of the authority’s developmental and socio-economic impact as of 2021.

“NSIA’s maiden impact report highlights the authority’s development agenda and impact over several years of operations as well as the authority’s efforts to safeguard the environment and address relevant climate-related risks and opportunities in line with best practices,”  he said.

On his part, Salisu Dahiru, director-general of the NCCC, said the partnership was a bold signal to the global audience that the government was serious about its climate commitments.

“By committing resources from its sovereign wealth fund to support climate action and inclusive green economic growth, Nigeria is investing in its future, especially in a vastly decarbonising world,” Dahiru said.

“This partnership between two of Nigeria’s flagship institutions is expected to catalyse private finance to accelerate Nigeria’s ambitious climate and national development agenda.”