‘Companies must brace up for impact of climate transition’

Nigerian Exchange Limited Regulations (NGX RegCo) have stressed the need for Nigerian firms to deepen their involvement in the fight against climate change in Nigeria.

According to NGX RegCo, companies that do not effectively navigate the transition and provide adequate disclosure may experience increased friction in accessing long-term sustainable capital.

Speaking during a training programme hosted by the NGX and NGX RegCo, in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Chief Executive Officer of NGX RegCo, Tinuade Awe said with the increasing policy pressures for issuers to address climate change globally, any company that fails to stay ahead of the trend may experience difficulty in accessing capital for business operations.

According to her, these policy pressures emanate from the recently signed Climate Change Act, as well as Nigeria’s vision to be a low-carbon, climate-resilient, high growth circular economy that reduces its current level of emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 as captured in the 2025 Long-Term Vision for the Nigerian economy, which was issued by the Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment in November 2021.

She pointed out that these policy advances have significant implications for business and the investment community, as companies that do not effectively navigate the climate transition and provide adequate disclosure may experience increased friction in accessing long-term sustainable capital.

“As a leading capital market infrastructure group, we recognize the important role we play in helping our markets navigate this transition. To this end, we are pleased to host this training as part of our Climate Awareness Initiative to help our market stakeholders not only make sense of the global and local trends in climate disclosure but also help them navigate the net-zero transition and align with increasing demands from policymakers and providers of finance,” Awe added.

Also speaking at the training session, Divisional Head, Business Support Services, NGX, Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale also emphasised the need for companies to be ahead of the requirements of the recently signed Climate Change Act.

She said, “This training is timely, particularly due to increasing policy requirements from the Climate Change Act which was signed into law by the National Assembly in November 2021.

“Under the Act, entities including bodies registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) are required to put in place measures to achieve annual carbon emission reduction targets in line with the National Climate Change Action Plan. To help listed companies get ahead of these policy advances, we are pleased to host this training as part of our Climate Awareness Initiative”.

The free climate disclosure training programme, which is certified by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service, presented issuers and companies listed on NGX with best practices on climate disclosure in line with the Financial Standards Board (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

The course, themed TCFD 101 provided an overview of climate-related reporting and its importance in the global fight against climate change while also sharing critical information with participants on the initial steps to address the TCFD recommendations.