Nigeria needs to mobilise an estimated $337 billion from private and other sources by 2035 to fund its climate and development priorities, the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) has said, as stakeholders called for faster movement from policy commitments to actual green investment.

The figure was disclosed at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s (NESG) National Green Growth Dialogue held on Thursday in Abuja, a pre-summit event organised with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and themed, “From Commitments to Green Growth.”
Speaking on behalf of the NCCC Director-General, Chief Scientist Adesola Olatunde said Nigeria’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution, NDC 3.0, targets a 32 per cent cut in emissions by 2035 and a net-zero pathway by 2060.
She said climate interventions must deliver measurable economic benefits, including jobs and productivity gains, rather than being treated separately from economic policy.

Olatunde also called for greater transparency and standardisation in the carbon market, supported by credible emissions data and catalytic financing through the Climate Change Fund.
Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Climate Finance, Temitope Akinyemi, said the Climate Change Fund, established under the Climate Change Act, still has structural gaps limiting its effectiveness, despite the Nigeria Natural Resource Trust Fund serving as its custodian.

He cited platforms such as the World Bank’s Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity while mobilising about $32 billion, as part of the financing opportunities Nigeria is tapping into.
From a development finance perspective, Head, Climate Finance, Development Bank of Nigeria, Imohe Omosede said the smaller projects needed to be aggregated to attract investment at scale, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that lack collateral for conventional loans.

Other speakers highlighted gaps in implementation. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Climate Finance, Ibrahim Shelleng, said only a handful of states currently have the capacity to access meaningful climate finance, calling for stronger coordination between the Federal Government and subnational authorities.

Head of Environment of Nigeria LNG, Metseagharun Weyimi, cited more than 20,000 visitors to tourism parks between January and July as evidence of the economic value of protecting forests, wetlands and mangroves.
The dialogue is part of a series of engagements ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32), scheduled for October 26–27 in Abuja, with the theme, “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity.”