Nigeria needs more than $15 billion each year to meet its climate commitments, the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) said at a two-day workshop on Institutional Capacity Assessment and Readiness for Climate Finance held in Abuja.

Represented by Bennie Ejiofor, NCCC Director General Omotenioye Majekodunmi noted that the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) targets a 329-million-ton CO₂ reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2060, but closing the funding gap requires stronger institutions to design, implement, and monitor investments. Global climate finance flows top $1.3 trillion annually, yet Africa receives less than 4%, she added.

The workshop, organized with NIRSAL Plc, brought together government agencies, financial institutions, and technical experts to identify priority interventions and strengthen Nigeria’s readiness for global climate funds.

NIRSAL Managing Director, represented by Climatesmart Agriculture Manager Abubakar Ahmed, emphasized the need to mobilize and deploy climate finance at scale, highlighting agriculture as particularly vulnerable to climate change.

As a Green Climate Fund (GCF) delivery partner, NIRSAL aims to help unlock financing and build risk-management capacity.

Senior Climate Finance Expert Agbo Chinonso Bathlomeo underscored the importance of shared understanding of Nigeria’s financing needs, identifying bankable projects, and aligning outcomes with national priorities.

He called for stronger collaboration among ministries, departments, and agencies to overcome fragmented approaches, weak monitoring systems, and limited green-lending tools.

Participants agreed that Nigeria must build “institutional muscle” to capture a greater share of international funding, citing recent GCF accreditation of the Development Bank of Nigeria and the Bank of Industry’s accreditation with the Adaptation Fund as positive steps.

According to the NCCC, the workshop’s outcomes will guide capacity assessments, institutional roadmaps, and project development tools—key to transforming the economy, creating green jobs, and ensuring a climate-resilient future.