GREEN FINANCE ONLINE TRAINING
19-24 November 2020
Background
In simple terms, green finance involves engaging traditional capital markets in creating and distributing a range of financial products and services that deliver both investable returns and environmentally positive outcomes. In recent years, the supply of and demand for such financial products has surged in countries across the globe.
In Nigeria, the federal government is set to float its third sovereign green bond of N25 billion (after the oversubscription of its first and second green bonds of N10.76bn and N15billion in 2018 and 2019 respectively). Apart from the federal government, progressive sub-national governments like Lagos State and private sector players are beginning to explore green financing option to boost investment into projects with positive outcomes for the environment and people.
Although this is a welcome development, the question of how ‘green’ projects funded in this way really are is an increasingly important one. It calls for increased scrutiny and oversight through independent actors.
Against this backdrop, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Abuja office and partners offer an online capacity-building programme that will enable select civil society organisations and journalists to better understand the mechanisms of green finance, scrutinize existing investments and to set the agenda as to what ‘green’ investments should constitute beyond the at times shallow understandings of the concept.
Some of the anticipated short and longer-term outcomes are:
1. A common of understanding of the basic types of finance mechanism that exist (i.e. loans, bonds, shares etc.) and the modalities particular to green finance;
2. A common of understanding of financial markets, including of the relevant policies, products, institutional and regulatory stakeholders;
3. A common understanding of the potential, risks and pitfalls of green finance;
4. An overview of green finance initiatives in Nigeria and how they work;
5. Identification of ways of how to find relevant information and how to access it, i.e. on the proceeds of the green bonds and the specific projects across the ministries they were used to finance;
6. Sharing of examples of how CSOs and media have been successful (and how they have failed) to force government and the private sector to resolve problems with “green” investment and projects;
7. A monitoring guide with an analytical framework for the assessment of projects and containing technical tools and other resources;
8. A strategy to move from ex-post evaluation of results to ex-ante engagement in the design of a green(er) budgets and investments and the KPIs for that.
9. Development of criteria that could be used for effective monitoring, tracking and measuring the progress on green finance projects.
Course Outline:
Module 1: Fundamentals to Climate Change and Green Finance
Climate Change, the Paris Agreements and NDCs Climate risks to the financial system
Green finance basics
Example´s of climate investment projects
Module 2: Introduction to Nigeria Financial Markets
Financial instruments (loans, bonds, equities, quasi -equities)
Financial intermediaries and their roles (banks, brokers, MDBs, DBs) Market regulation (CBN, SEC, NSE, FMDQ)
Local market issuances (FG, Access Bank, North South Power)
Module 3: Deepening the Understanding of Green Finance
Understanding the green criteria in green finance/investment Green Bonds – an overview
Experience from the FGN green bond
Understanding Green Climate fund and its Processes
Mechanisms for identifying climate risks and originating bankable climate resilient (green) projects / enterprises
Identifying the range of financial products and services with investable returns and environmentally positive outcomes
Module 4: Green Finance Monitoring by CSO
Effective, monitoring, tracking and measuring the progress on Green Finance and investment-indicators and trackers
Entry points and roles of CSOs and media in the green finance ecosystem
Gender and women’s role in green financing Citizen’s climate finance
