By Francesca Hangeior

The European Union (EU) has commenced a series of strategic events to mark its Climate Month ahead of COP29 taking place in in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.

The organisation said the events are part of efforts to foster sustainability through climate action.

The EU Climate Month, with the theme “Opportunities for Growing Green Together,” features a series of impactful events aimed at highlighting the importance of collaboration between the EU, Nigeria, and other key stakeholders in promoting sustainable development.

Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS Massimo De Luca said these events, organised within the framework of the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, showcase how the EU is creating opportunities for innovation, green growth, and shared climate responsibility.

Senior representatives of European investors and Nigerian public and private entities already active or about to enter the green bond market recently gathered in Abuja to deepen understanding of opportunities in the Nigerian Market, ahead of the imminent launch of the EU Global Green Bonds Initiative, anticipated to spur green investments totalling up to €15-20 billion.

De Luca said: “EU Climate Month reflects our deep commitment to driving sustainable solutions in partnership with Nigeria.

“Each event is an opportunity not only to share knowledge and best practices but also to inspire innovation in tackling climate challenges. Our goal is to foster lasting, impactful change through collaboration, empowering both Nigeria and the EU to grow green together.

“This initiative is part of the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, which focuses on investing in sustainable infrastructure globally. Through these efforts, we aim to support green growth, particularly in key sectors like energy, climate-smart agriculture, and digitalisation, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals.”

De Luca added: “In this context, the EU-Nigeria Climate and Energy Dialogue revolved around Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Energy Transition and access, carbon pricing, monitoring and reporting of emissions, and the upcoming 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29).

“The recently launched Nigeria Methane Emissions Reduction Programme will focus on building the capacity of stakeholders for measuring and monitoring emissions from the oil & gas sector, agriculture and waste. This October, it will bring together the stakeholders of the oil and gas sector, including international oil companies (IOCs), indigenous oil companies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and others, to reduce methane emissions. Methane contributes to ozone layer depletion, negatively impacts climate change, and poses health risks to communities.

“The training of Nigeria’s climate negotiators for COP29 aims to enhance the knowledge and negotiation skills of climate leaders and advocates.

“The Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP) III event will mark the launch of the third phase of this flagship project providing 360 degrees support to the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector in Nigeria. It will be held together with the latest novel initiative brought to Nigeria by the EU, Get.Invest, which will develop the renewable energy investment pipeline.

“The support for sustainable aviation fuel programme will focus on decarbonising the aviation sector by promoting the use of sustainable fuels, such as biofuels (plant-based), instead of conventional crude oil-derived fuels. This event is part of a bigger EU multi-country intervention, for which Nigeria was prioritised.

“The Global Gateway is an EU strategy to invest in sustainable infrastructure projects worldwide. In Nigeria, the initiative is focusing on sectors such as energy, transport, digitalisation, agriculture/climate smart value chains, as well as health and education.”