The Debt Management Office on Wednesday said it was set to issue Green Bonds worth N10.69bn to finance some aspects of the 2017 budget. According to the DMO, the Green Bond is being issued following Nigeria’s endorsement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on September 21, 2016. The agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. Since its signing, various countries who are parties to the agreement have initiated several steps aimed at making the environment better. The Green Bond proceeds will be used to finance projects in the 2017 Appropriation Act that have been certified as green because of their positive effects on the environment, the DMO said in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday. Among the projects to be financed with the proceeds of the Green Bond issuance are renewable energy micro utilities and afforestation programmes of the government. As part of the preparation for the bond, which is to be issued in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the DMO will hold a roadshow in Abuja today (Thursday) to sensitise prospective investors to what to expect from the bond. Another roadshow with the same objective will hold in Lagos on Friday. Chapel Hill Denham has been appointed as financial advisers to the transaction. The DMO said with the issuance, Nigeria would become one of the few countries in the world and the first African country to issue a Green Bond. The Federal Government had in November issued Eurobonds worth $3bn. Out of the amount, $2.5bn was earmarked for financing deficits in the 2017 budget. Should the National Assembly fail to pass the 2018 budget proposal early enough for implementation in January, the 2017 budget is expected to last till May 2018 since it was passed into law in May 2017. Source: The Punch