Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) plans to issue N208 billion ($682 million) worth of green bonds before the end of the year, the environment minister Ibrahim Jibril (photo) said July 20.

“Debt Management Office plans a Sovereign Green Bond program,” he said, commenting on the listing of this Sovereign Green Bond, which is the country’s first ever certified green bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The official also pointed out that the impending listing is to finance carbon-reducing projects, specifying that the amount could change depending on the final project cost.  Nigeria is considering various options to finance its State budget since oil prices slumped in late 2014 entailing a slowdown in 2016. Although the economy has grown since then, it remains tepid.

It will be recalled that last year, the country issued N10.69 billion green bonds to finance renewable energy projects.