From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja (with agency report)
The Federal Government plans to issue a green bond worth $68.7 million to finance environmentally-and climate-friendly projects with a view to restoring over 100 million degraded and deforested landscapes before 2030.
Speaking at the United Nations Climate Conference, President Muhammadu Buhari said that the move is part of the broader African forest landscape restoration initiative that seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030.
According to the president, Nigeria as Africa’s biggest economy will issue a green bond worth $68.7 million to finance environmentally- and climate-friendly projects.
Nigeria had earlier made a commitment to restore 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of degraded forests. It has, however, recovered 555,480 hectares of land and planted 15 million trees.
“The country’s third green bond follows two previous issues totalling $68.3 million that have helped the government’s forest more than six million hectares of land,” the president said, warning that global efforts to tackle desertification and drought will be hurt by the Russian war in Ukraine if peace is not achieved.
“Sub-Saharan Africa is among the regions worst hit by climate change, which has led to violent conflict over resources between nomadic cattle herders and sedentary farmers in Nigeria’s north and the worst drought in 40 years in the Horn of Africa.
“We, therefore, call for a cease-fire and cessation of conflicts where they exist and especially the Russian–Ukraine war. We call on all the parties to return to the negotiation table with a view to putting an end to this needless conflict,” President Buhari said.