The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril has said that the Federal Government will delay the issuance of its green bonds until the 2017 budget is passed
The government had planned to launch the N20 billion bond in April to fund projects to reduce carbon emissions and develop renewable energy.
Disclosing the news yesterday in Abuja, Jibril said that following a cabinet meeting, the government shelved plans to launch the green bonds till the 2017 budget is passed, adding that the budget was paramount and must be agreed by the parliament before it could be signed by the President.
“All is set for its formal launch but the budget has to be passed first before the issuance and the budget which was first presented to lawmakers by President Muhammadu Buhari in December, must be agreed by parliament before it can be signed into law by the president, hence the delay”, Jibril said.
Announcing the plans in February, the Environment Ministry had said the programme was aimed at widening Nigeria’s funding options and diversify its oil-dependent economy, which is the largest in Africa and lawmakers resolved to pass the 2017 budget quickly than last year when dispute between the presidency and the parliament delayed the spending plan being passed in to law for months
The green bond, the first of its kind in Nigeria, will be the first sovereign issuance by an African nation, and according to the government, “the green bonds issuance will be the first stage to enable Nigerians tap into the growing global market for green bonds, which as of end of 2016 comprised $576 billion of unlabelled climate-aligned bonds and $118 billion of labelled green bonds”
President Muhammadu Buhari had on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, signed the Paris climate Agreement, stating that Nigeria will float its first ever green bond.