Nigeria does not face a policy vacuum on climate and transport. It faces an execution gap, in coordination, capacity, infrastructure, and above all, finance. That was the clear message from the webinar “Cutting Costs, Cutting Emissions: Climate Change and Finance Opportunities”, held on 5 March 2026 as part of the UK PACT Enhancing Private Sector Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action in Nigeria project.
The webinar is part of a wider national effort under the UK PACT Enhancing Private Sector Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action in Nigeria project, delivered by a consortium bringing together the University of York – Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Escher Silverman Global, AP3 Advisory, the Consulting Engineers Group (CEG), and SLOCAT. Capacity-building training, follow-up workshops, and practical guidance materials are planned to help organisations align their activities with climate policies and develop finance-ready proposals.
The webinar brought together private businesses, government institutions, academia, civil society organisations, and development partners to explore the intersection between climate change, air pollution, transport systems, and climate finance. It introduced attendees to the project and its aims: strengthening Nigeria’s transport private sector’s capacity to implement inclusive, finance-ready climate and clean air actions.
One of the webinar’s central presentations, delivered by SLOCAT Policy Analyst Akshay Jamdade, focused on a deceptively simple question: which climate finance door should Nigerian private transport stakeholders should knock on? His answer unfolded across three themes, why more climate finance is needed, what opportunities exist to scale up climate finance, and how the project “enhancing private sector capacity for climate and clean air action in Nigeria’ t will help private actors access them.
Why more climate finance is needed
The gap between what Nigeria has mobilised and what it needs is enormous. In 2021/22, the country mobilised roughly USD 2.5 billion for climate action, against an estimated annual requirement of USD 29.7 billion. Nigeria needs to mobilise more than ten times its current level of climate finance to meet its climate goals.
The transport sector’s share of that finance is small. Around USD 215 million has flowed to transport, with most of it directed toward large infrastructure such as rail and urban public transport,. That leaves private road operators, fleet managers, logistics providers, and public transport concessionaires relying on high-cost commercial finance amid high inflation and currency risks. For operators with thin margins, investments in low-emission vehicles remain largely unaffordable.
Nigeria has policy aspirations: the Climate Change Act (2021), the NDC 3.0 targeting a 29.3% by 2030 and 32.2% by 2035, relative to 2018 levels,, the Energy Transition Plan, and the recently adopted National Land Transport Policy (2025). It is one of the few African nations with a formal net-zero target (aiming for net-zero emissions across all sectors in a gender-responsive manner by 2060). But despite these commitments, private sector engagement in low-emission transport remains constrained by regulatory uncertainty, weak enforcement, limited access to climate finance, underdeveloped infrastructure, and a highly informal market structure dominated by small operators.
The barriers stack up. High interest rates and inflation stifle investment, loans from local banks can carry double-digit real rates, and foreign finance requires costly currency hedging. There is limited availability of tailored financial instruments such as concessional credit lines, guarantees, or blended finance structures designed for low-carbon transport.
Akshay then spent some time diving into Nigeria’s climate financial flows, which started with sources, where majority of the finance was sources from Development Finance Institution, and some from Private sector. It was noted that DFIs usually provided low cost and market rate project debts instruments, whereas Governments and philanthropic foundations provided finance through grants instruments.
.As Akshay put it: Nigeria’s primary constraint is not a lack of policy ambition, but the limited translation of existing frameworks into bankable, de-risked, and operationally viable investment pathways for private sector actors.
What opportunities exist
Despite these barriers, the climate finance landscape offers real openings. Akshay outlined the key sources and intermediaries available: multilateral and bilateral development finance institutions, national development banks, government budgets, green bonds, and emerging climate funds. The challenge is matching the right project with the right financier.
This requires understanding what different types of financiers are looking for. Public entities typically seek policy alignment and development impact. Private investors demand predictable cash flows and acceptable risk-return profiles. Climate financiers require verifiable additionality, alignment with Paris Agreement principles, and robust measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks.
Scaling up climate finance also means strengthening the policy environment through supportive legislation and regulatory frameworks, and building institutional and technical capacity. A major focus of the presentation was the development of bankable projects aligned with the priorities of different financiers, with gender inclusion and equity principles embedded from the outset.
How the project will help
The third part of Akshay’s presentation turned to the practical support this initiative will provide. The project will help businesses identify relevant global or national funding opportunities, offer tools and case studies, potential ideas for bankable projects based on mapping funding opportunities with relevant finance instruments based on Nigeria’s landscape and support the development of stronger climate finance proposals. These resources will be brought together in a practical training guide designed to help stakeholders identify financing opportunities, understand relevant instruments, and build finance-ready project proposals.
This matters because many of the businesses the project works with, small and medium-sized transport enterprises in particular, face acute challenges in technical capacity and access to finance. They are willing to act, but lack the specific know-how. The project aims to bridge the gap, positioning Nigerian private stakeholders to overcome barriers to accessing climate finance
The bigger picture
The webinar also highlighted that transport emissions are not only a climate issue but a public health one. Air pollution is the third leading risk factor for premature death in Nigeria, and roughly a quarter of infant deaths in the country are attributable to it. Vulnerable populations, women, children, and people with disabilities, are disproportionately affected. Integrated solutions that tackle greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution simultaneously can deliver significant co-benefits for health and for communities.
Participants stressed the need to integrate Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) into climate and transport initiatives, promoting women’s participation in the sector, supporting women-led businesses, and ensuring that policies and investments enable equitable access to sustainable mobility solutions.
The transition to sustainable transport is difficult, especially for SMEs managing tight budgets and competing priorities. But the tools to support that transition are becoming available, and the UK PACT Nigeria project is working to ensure that the businesses at the heart of Nigeria’s transport system are equipped to seize them.
The “Cutting Costs, Cutting Emissions” webinar was organised on 5 March 2026 as part of the UK PACT Enhancing Private Sector Capacity for Climate and Clean Air Action in Nigeria project. Read the full webinar brief for a detailed summary of the event’s insights and discussion highlights.
