Nigerian Exchange Limited (“NGX” or “The Exchange”) and NGX Regulation (NGX RegCo), in collaboration with UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), hosted the first in a 2-part training series on climate disclosure as part of the NGX Regulation Climate Awareness Initiative on Tuesday, 19 April 2022.
The free Climate Disclosure Training Programme, which is certified by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service, presented issuers and companies listed on NGX with best practices on climate disclosure in line with the Financial Standards Board (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The course, themed TCFD 101 provided an overview of climate-related reporting and its importance in the global fight against climate change while also sharing critical information with participants on the initial steps to address the TCFD recommendations.
Speaking at the training, Ms. Tinuade Awe, Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation, said, “Globally, there are increasing policy pressures for issuers to address climate change. For us in Nigeria, these policy pressures emanate from the recently signed Climate Change Act in as well as Nigeria’s vision to be a low-carbon, climate-resilient, high growth circular economy that reduces its current level of emissions by 50% by 2050 as captured in the 2025 Long-Term Vision for the Nigerian economy which was issued by the Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment in November 2021. These policy advances have significant implications for business and the investment community, as companies that do not effectively navigate the climate transition and provide adequate disclosure may experience increased friction in accessing long-term sustainable capital.”
“As a leading capital market infrastructure group, we recognize the important role we play in helping our markets navigate this transition. To this end, we are pleased to host this training as part of our Climate Awareness Initiative to help our market stakeholders not only make sense of the global and local trends in climate disclosure but to also help them navigate the net-zero transition and align with increasing demands from policy makers and providers of finance.” Ms. Awe added.
Also speaking at the training session, Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, Divisional Head, Business Support Services, NGX, highlighted the need for companies to be ahead of the requirements of the recently signed Climate Change Act. She said, “This training is timely, particularly due to increasing policy requirements from the Climate Change Act which was signed into law by the National Assembly in November 2021. Under the Act, entities including bodies registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) are required to put in place measures to achieve annual carbon emission reduction targets in line with the National Climate Change Action Plan. To help listed companies get ahead of these policy advances, we are pleased to host this training in as part of our Climate Awareness Initiative”.
The training was hosted as part of a 2 part CPD-Certified training on the TCFD in collaboration with UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Market stakeholders can look forward to participating in TCFD 102 which provides an in-depth analysis of the TCFD reporting process whilst focusing on host listed companies can set up internal processes for reporting climate disclosures.