Lagos State has stepped up its push to attract climate finance and private-sector investment, with Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu calling for stronger partnerships and greater access to affordable, long-term funding for sub-national governments.
Sanwo-Olu made the call while addressing Heads of State and Government at the United Nations high-level meeting on Climate Action and the Just Transition during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The governor, who addressed the meeting as a representative of the Under2 Coalition, said states and regions are increasingly responsible for translating climate commitments into physical infrastructure and economic opportunities, but often lack access to the capital required to execute projects at scale.
‘For Lagos, climate action is about turning ambition into opportunity: protecting our people, strengthening our economy and building a more resilient and prosperous state for generations to come,’ Sanwo-Olu said.
He identified cleaner transportation, waste management, recycling, circular-economy initiatives and clean energy as areas where climate action could generate economic value while addressing the environmental pressures created by Lagos’ rapid urbanisation.
Lagos generates more than 5,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, according to the state government, creating potential investment opportunities across waste recovery, recycling, resource efficiency and clean-energy value chains.
‘These are not abstract climate policies. These are decisions that can create jobs, improve services, strengthen resilience and make everyday life better for millions of people,’ he noted.
Lagos seeks climate investment
A major focus of the Governor’s intervention was the financing gap confronting subnational governments seeking to implement climate and infrastructure projects.
Sanwo-Olu called on development finance institutions, investors and private-sector players to increase their participation in climate-related projects in emerging markets, arguing that the investment opportunity is substantial.
‘States and regions need access to affordable, long-term finance that can help turn strong plans into infrastructure on the ground,’ he said.
‘Our message from Lagos is simple: states, regions and subnational governments are ready to deliver. We have ambition. We have the responsibility. And increasingly, we have the solutions. Now we need to build the partnerships and mobilise the investment that will allow us to deliver them at scale.’
The governor’s intervention was made alongside California Governor Gavin Newsom, with Lagos using its membership of the Under2 Coalition to deepen international partnerships and exchange practical approaches to climate action.
Building a climate investment pipeline
Lagos is now seeking to move beyond policy commitments by developing mechanisms to connect its climate priorities with investors and sources of capital.
Through the Office of Climate Change and Circular Economy (OCCE), led by Special Adviser to the Governor, Titilayo Oshodi, the state is working to translate its State-Determined Contributions framework into investable projects.
‘The SDC Framework gives us the policy direction, but policy ambition alone does not move capital,’ Oshodi said.
‘Our focus now is on building the bridge between climate ambition and investment – developing investable opportunities, strengthening the data and measurement systems around them and creating pathways for investors, financial institutions, development finance institutions and businesses to participate.’
The state is also developing a Lagos Climate Finance and Investment Platform, which is expected to link climate priorities with capital, technology and implementation partners.
The platform will focus on areas including climate finance, deal-making, Article 6 and climate assets, digital measurement and verification, as well as international partnerships.
For Lagos, the strategy represents an attempt to position climate action not only as an environmental programme but also as a potential source of infrastructure financing, private investment, technology transfer and employment.
The state plans to further showcase its investment proposition at COP31 in Antalya, Trkiye, where it intends to engage investors, development finance institutions, financial institutions, project developers and technology companies.
The broader objective is to convert Lagos’ climate commitments into a pipeline of bankable projects capable of attracting domestic and international capital while supporting the state’s long-term economic and infrastructure development.