DBN Raises Nigeria’s Climate Finance Ambition, Launches Green Declaration

Emma Okonji

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has launched the Green Declaration, a collective, high-level show of commitment to accelerating Nigeria’s energy transition through climate-smart investment, strategic partnerships, and inclusive financial action.

The signing ceremony, in Lagos, convened an assembly of stakeholders from finance, development, and government, signaling unified intent to position green finance as an economic opportunity, not a regulatory burden.

The declaration, which DBN Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi, described as “a call to action and not mere imposition of obligations,” sets the tone for Nigeria’s climate finance framework. It encourages institutions to align financial flows with the country’s climate goals, including the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Paris Agreement, while mobilising capital across public and private sectors, multilateral agencies, and community actors.

“The world is currently focused on energy transition—the shift towards clean and sustainable energy sources,” Okpanachi said. “By reducing reliance on fossil fuels and embracing renewable energy, we can address climate change, diversify energy sources, create jobs, and reduce pollution, ultimately leading to a healthier and more sustainable future,” Okpanachi added

The Green Declaration integrates multiple fronts: championing climate-smart investments that create green jobs and protect natural ecosystems; driving innovation and ensuring inclusion so women, youth, rural entrepreneurs and underserved communities have access to finance; supporting regulatory frameworks that enable clean energy growth; and leading by example through institutional realignment.

According to the DBN, these commitments are especially crucial in a country where energy transition has been hampered by limited funding, despite the urgent need to combat the rising consequences of climate change.

Recent reports show Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by 1.2°C since the industrial revolution, triggering unprecedented floods, droughts, and socio-ethnic tensions—disasters that disproportionately affect vulnerable economies like Nigeria’s.

Stakeholders from institutions such as Sterling Bank, Stanbic IBTC, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Central Bank of Nigeria among others, signed a commemorative board, pledging to support the Green Declaration’s goals. The board will be displayed at the DBN headquarters as a permanent reminder of the shared objectives.