From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
In a bid for President Bola Tinubu to secure commitments from global leaders and institutions in line with his vision for a greener and more prosperous Nigeria, Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, Ajuri Ngelare has secured commitments from key international partners to support Nigeria’s green industrial development agenda.
Ngelale on Wednesday, hosted a series of high-level meetings to align partnerships with the United Kingdom-Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNAIF), the World Economic Forum (WEF) Center for Nature and Climate, and a delegation from the German Embassy.
He explained that in the first meeting, he received a briefing from the UKNAIF leadership to ensure their initiatives are in sync with Nigeria’s plans for private sector-led, public sector-enabled green industrialization.
Later, Envoy on Climate Action held a virtual discussion with the Managing Director of the WEF Center for Nature and Climate, Gim Huay. Ngelale said they agreed on actionable next steps to enhance collaboration with international investors and development finance institutions aligned with Nigeria’s green industrial roadmap.
In a separate on the same day, he met with a delegation from the German Embassy, led by its Head of Climate Negotiations, Ambassador Johannes Lehne. They discussed specific steps to deepen cooperation on hydrogen and wind energy development, with a follow-up meeting scheduled for next week.
He said: “On Wednesday morning, we hosted the leadership of the United Kingdom-Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNAIF) for a briefing to align the partnership with President Bola Tinubu’s plans for private sector-led, public sector-enabled green industrial development.
“Later, we hosted a virtual discussion with the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Center for Nature and Climate, Ms. Gim Huay, during which we agreed to actionable next steps that will ensure greater collaboration with international investors and DFIs in accordance with our green industrial roadmap.*
“On Wednesday evening, we hosted a frutiful session with a delegation from the German Embassy led by its Head of Climate Negotiations, AmbassadorJohannes Lehne. Specific steps toward deepening collaboration on hydrogen and wind energy development were agreed upon with a follow-up next week.”
Ngelale had on the sidelines of the Global Energy Transition Congress in Milan, Italy, on Monday, observed a significant paradigm shift in how commercial risk and value are assessed as a result of the increasing frequency of climate disasters.
He noted that the insurance industry, particularly in developed markets, is undergoing such major changes.
He stressed that a future where companies are evaluated based on verifiable climate impact or mitigation measures is becoming a reality across sectors.
Ngelale had joined a Leadership Roundtable of global leaders to co-create solutions for catalyzing private sector investments in renewable energy and carbon capture technology projects.
According to him, the discussion focused on creating coordinated pools of de-risking finance to provide political risk guarantees for emerging markets vulnerable to climate change.
“Gradually, we are seeing a paradigm shift with respect to how commercial risk and value are evaluated in the wake of an increasing frequency of climate disasters.
“The insurance industry, especially in developed markets, is just one sector seeing major changes – and a future in which companies will be assessed according to verifiable measurement of climate impact or mitigation is evolving into reality across sectors.
“On Monday, on the sidelines of the Global Energy Transition Congress in Milan, Italy, I joined a Leadership Roundtable of cabinet-level officials and captains of industry from across the globe as we sought to co-create solutions on how to catalyze large-scale private sector-led investments in renewable energy and carbon capture technology projects, through the active creation of coordinated pools of de-risking finance in a way that provides political risk guarantees to cover specific vulnerabilites found in emerging markets that are prone to dynamic and unique manifestations of climate change”, Ngelale had said.
This development signals a crucial shift in the global approach to climate action, with Nigeria playing an active role in shaping the conversation.
