James Emejo in Abuja
The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Bank of Industry (BoI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, yesterday said Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) remained integral actors in the global response to the climate challenge given their strategic role in mobilising resources for national development.
He said one of the primary drivers of BoI’s developmental strategy was to accelerate the country’s development through supporting environmentally-friendly and sustainable projects across the key sectors of the economy.
He spoke at the opening of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) Joint International CEO Forum 2023 with the theme: “DFIs’ Strategic Role towards a Climate – Smart Future” in Abuja.
The forum is a biennial event aimed at building global partnerships to promote and finance development in the regions and to strengthen South-South Cooperation.
Olusi said this year’s theme was premised on the need for a climate smart future, given humanity’s increasing vulnerability to climate change.
He said the bank is currently implementing an on-lending financing scheme through local financial institutions to support customers interested in adopting clean energy solutions.
Olusi added that BoI will continue to seek funding partners to complement its climate change agenda.
He said: “We live in a world where climatic events are claiming lives, disrupting food systems, limiting infrastructure, and generally slowing down economic growth and development across member nations; while accelerating poverty, to the detriment of mankind.
“It is globally recognised that there is an opportunity for climate change mitigation and adaptation to become the main driver of economic growth and there is no better time for DFIs to become the vehicles for this change.”
However, he said BoI remained committed to delivering on its mandate which is well-aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the bank had worked with its partners to raise over $5 billion from several international financial institutions in the last five years, adding that it hopes to further leverage its extensive partnership to raise the resources required for building a climate-smart Nigeria, in line with the president’s vision.
The BoI chief executive said DFIs must work together to achieve their climate ambitions by closing financing gap, reiterating stronger climate commitments, tapping into the potential of renewable energy, and building partnerships and collaboration.
Among other things, he said the bank had been active in resourcing climate-friendly funds, including the recent credit line of €100 million secured from the French Development Agency (AFD) for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria.
In his remarks, AADFI Chairman/CEO of Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency Botswana (CEDA), Mr. Thabo Thamane, said the world was facing the negative impact of climate change, noting that human health and safety, food and water security, and sustainable socio-economic development are threatened globally.
Citing reports, he said if strategic actions were not taken to combat climate change, the world economy will lose more than 18 per cent of its current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2048, while the least developed countries, particularly those in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, will suffer the worst consequences.
Thamane added that Africa, for instance, is estimated to lose 5 per cent to 15 per cent of its projected GDP by 2050, with a projected climate adaptation cost of $10 billion to $30 billion annually by 2030.
At the same time, he said the Asia and ASEAN countries are projected to lose 26.5 per cent and 37.4 per cent of their GDP by 2048, if immediate action is not taken to mitigate the effects of climate change.
He added that there’s a need for urgent action from all stakeholders and to respond just and equitably.
He said: “We must sustain efforts in embedding climate-friendly initiatives in our operations for a bright future. As an association of DFIs, the AADFI will continue to leverage partnership and collaboration in advancing the Paris Agreement.
“Such cooperation is manifest in our membership of the WFDFI, our relationship with our colleagues in Asia and the Pacific, the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC), and our involvement in the Finance in Common Summit, a global coalition of over 500 plus Public Development Banks (PDBs).”
