…Boosts Nigeria’s fight against climate change
The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) has announced that it has received the Green Climate Fund (GCF) accreditation as the first Direct Access Entity (DAE) and the only authorised Nigerian channel for accessing green financing from the GCF.
The GCF is the world’s largest dedicated fund helping Small Island states, and least developed and developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their ability to respond to climate change.
It does this by channeling climate finance to developing countries and investing in their adaptation and mitigation activities through a project portfolio that is implemented by its partner organizations, known as accredited entities.
The accredited entities, which can either be International Accredited Entities or Direct Access Entities (DAEs), develop funding proposals to be considered by the GCF. The accredited entities also oversee, supervise, manage, and monitor their respective GCF-approved projects.
“It will also help create greater awareness on climate change, culminating in greater involvement of Nigerians in climate actions prompting a shift towards green economy as well as raise the Nigerian portfolio in climate financing globally, and unlocking more climate funds,” Tony Okpanachi, the managing director, DBN, said in a statement.
He stated that with the accreditation, DBN is empowered to develop and submit funding proposals for projects and programmes; deploy a range of financial instruments such as concessional loans, co-financing and blending for loans and mobilise private sector capital for such climate change initiatives.
Okpanachi noted that climate change has become an existential threat to humanity as extreme weather conditions have caused devastating effects on livelihoods – depletion of grazing lands for livestock, rising sea levels causing excessing flooding that displaces communities.
