By Chinwendu Obienyi and Chukwuma Umeorah
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has restated its firm commitment to championing the promotion of sustainable financing through formulating necessary rules and regulations.
This was even as the Commission urged the Federal Government to leverage Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), to catalyse and enhance the state of infrastructure in the country to promote the deepening of domestic capital market.
Its Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, made this known at a one-day workshop themed; ESG and Sustainable Finance; The Future of Investments organised in collaboration with the Financial Centre for Sustainability, Lagos in Lagos recently.
Whilst stating that the world has found itself at a critical juncture where it must urgently consider the devastating impact of climate change, inequality, conflict and insecurity vis-à-vis the need for responsible corporate behavior, Yuguda explained that there is a need to ensure investment practices align with ESG considerations.
According to him, Nigeria has the opportunity to drive positive changes through the focused promotion of ESG and sustainable finance in its financial markets.
He added that the SEC stands firm in its commitment to champion the promotion of sustainable financing through formulating the necessary rules and regulations; working together with stakeholders to promote advocacy and encourage dialogue, with a view to creating the required enabling environment for assessing the progress achieved and overcoming the challenges that remain.
Yuguda revealed that the commission’s rules on green bonds have already facilitated three issuances, thereby providing the essential funding for green projects in sectors such as power, water and agriculture, and building the foundation for more to come in the nearest future and added that the SEC have also developed comprehensive sustainable finance guidelines and disclosure requirements for capital market operators, aligning them with the wider Nigerian Sustainable Finance Principles.
He noted that the SEC envisages continued growth in the sustainable finance environment and in particular, within the Nigerian bond market.
This, he said, will present a significant opportunity for the Nigerian capital market to expand its product offerings, and provide more long-term financing for businesses while protecting the environment, reducing inequality, promoting security and fostering national economic prosperity.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Managing Director, Environmental and Social Sustainability (ESS) Dakar, Adrian Mill, said that the Environmental Assessment Act, Petroleum Industry Bill, Climate Change act, Nigerian sustainable banking principles amongst others are key factors that highlights the progress of sustainable finance so far in the country.