EU kicks off climate month ahead of COP29

The European Union (EU) is gearing up for its Climate Month, a series of events designed to promote sustainability and climate action, all leading up to the highly anticipated COP29 Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.

The EU Climate Month, with the theme ‘Opportunities for Growing Green Together’, features a series of impactful events aimed at highlighting the importance of collaboration between the EU, Nigeria, and other key stakeholders in promoting sustainable development.

These events, organised within the framework of the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, showcase how the organisation is creating opportunities for innovation, green growth, and shared climate responsibility.

The Global Gateway is an EU strategy to invest in sustainable infrastructure projects worldwide. In Nigeria, the initiative is focusing on sectors such as energy, transport, digitalisation, agriculture/climate-smart value chains, as well as health and education.

Highlights of the programme include the Green Bond Stakeholder Dialogue, the EU-Nigeria Climate and Energy Dialogue, the training of Nigeria’s Climate Negotiators for COP29, the Nigeria Methane Emissions Reduction Programme—with a special workshop on emissions from the oil and gas sector—the launch of the Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP) III and Get Invest programmes in the renewable energy sector, as well as an event on sustainable aviation fuel.

On October 10, senior representatives of European investors and Nigerian public and private entities, already active or about to enter the green bond market, gathered in Abuja to deepen understanding of opportunities in the Nigerian market ahead of the imminent launch of the EU Global Green Bonds Initiative, anticipated to spur green investments totalling up to €15-20 billion.

Speaking about the events, Massimo De Luca, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said, “EU Climate Month reflects our deep commitment to driving sustainable solutions in partnership with Nigeria. Each event is an opportunity not only to share knowledge and best practices but also to inspire innovation in tackling climate challenges. Our goal is to foster lasting, impactful change through collaboration, empowering both Nigeria and the EU to grow green together.

“This initiative is part of the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, which focuses on investing in sustainable infrastructure globally. Through these efforts, we aim to support green growth, particularly in key sectors like energy, climate-smart agriculture, and digitalisation, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals.”

In this context, the EU-Nigeria Climate and Energy Dialogue revolved around Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), energy transition and access, carbon pricing, monitoring and reporting of emissions, and the upcoming 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29).

The recently launched Nigeria Methane Emissions Reduction Programme will focus on building the capacity of stakeholders for measuring and monitoring emissions from the oil and gas sector, agriculture, and waste.

This October, the programme will bring together stakeholders from the oil and gas sector, including international oil companies (IOCs), indigenous oil companies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and others, to reduce methane emissions. Methane contributes to ozone layer depletion, negatively impacts climate change, and poses health risks to communities.

The training of Nigeria’s climate negotiators for COP29 aims to enhance the knowledge and negotiation skills of climate leaders and advocates.