The Lagos State Government is taking an estimated US$25–50 billion climate investment opportunity, spanning more than 300 potential projects, to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. At the centre of this effort is Titilayo Oshodi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy.
In this conversation, she discusses the intersection of climate action, economic development, infrastructure and investment; the thinking behind Lagos’ State-Determined Contributions Framework; and why the transition to a climate-resilient economy must deliver tangible benefits for people and businesses. BusinessDay’s Joshua Bassey brings excerpts.
Climate change is often discussed as an environmental issue, but you approach it as something much broader. How do you see it?
Climate change is fundamentally a development issue. For a city like Lagos, it directly affects how we live, work, commute, produce, and do business. It connects to infrastructure resilience, grid reliability, transport sustainability, food security, and public health.
When discussing climate action, we must look beyond emissions and environmental targets and ask what it delivers for people: Does it expand electricity access? Does it reduce flooding? Does it improve transportation efficiency? Does it unlock enterprise and jobs? Climate policy cannot remain disconnected from Lagos’s core development priorities.
What drew you to this intersection of climate change, public policy, and economic development?
The opportunity to connect issues that are often treated separately: environmental sustainability, macroeconomic growth, infrastructure development, and social welfare are not competing priorities. They are interconnected.
In a megacity as complex as Lagos, we cannot afford fragmented planning. The real test of any policy commitment is whether it translates into projects, viable partnerships, capital allocation, and measurable implementation.
Lagos is presenting an estimated US$25–50 billion investment opportunity across more than 300 projects at COP31. What is behind that figure?
It reflects the scale of the commercial and developmental opportunities in Lagos. We have mapped opportunities across clean energy, solarisation, transport systems, water resources, flood mitigation, waste management, agriculture, and green enterprises.
The US$25–50 billion represents project opportunity across more than 300 potential projects. The projects are at different stages, and part of our work is to strengthen the process of identifying, screening, and preparing them for investment. Lagos is presenting its climate priorities through coordinated investment architecture so investors see bankable solutions rather than just municipal challenges.
How do you intend to turn an opportunity of that scale into actual investments?
The starting point is coordination and structure. An agenda of this scale cannot be advanced by one ministry or agency working independently. Through our State-Determined Contributions Framework, we have unified government priorities into a single platform.
The next step is project preparation. Investors need clarity on project delivery mechanisms, commercial revenue models, risk-sharing frameworks, and appropriate financial structures. By engaging financial institutions, development partners, and private developers early, we move beyond non-binding expressions of interest to actionable project finance.
Tell us more about the State-Determined Contributions Framework and its core pillars.
The SDC Framework connects the State’s climate priorities across different sectors and institutions. It is organised around five dedicated investment platforms:
– Clean energy and clean cooking;
– Blue economy, water and climate resilience;
– Circular economy and industrial decarbonisation;
– Climate-smart infrastructure and urban transition; and
– Climate innovation, food systems and green enterprise.
These pillars structure climate action as an economic transition. Clean energy drives industrial competitiveness; flood mitigation protects municipal assets and communities; circular initiatives turn waste management into commercial enterprise. The framework establishes a unified channel for investors and ministries to collaborate efficiently.
As a megacity facing flooding, waste, and energy deficits, where do you see the most immediate opportunities for impact in Lagos?
There are opportunities across all these areas, and they are interconnected. These issues are tightly connected. In clean energy, expanded solarisation provides reliable power to households, small businesses, and public institutions. In transportation, sustainable, multimodal transit eases congestion and cuts logistics costs.
For flood mitigation, a coastal city must move from reactive disaster management to investing in long-term drainage systems and coastal defences built for future weather extremes. In the circular economy, waste should not merely be treated as a cost centre; structured properly with technology and investment, it becomes a profitable resource for recycling, energy generation, and job creation.
The State has established a Climate Defence and Catalytic Fund. What role will this play in mobilising climate finance?
Mobilising private capital at scale requires proactive risk mitigation. The Climate Defence and Catalytic Fund, launched in July 2026, aims to mobilise up to US$3 billion annually to de-risk investment in low-carbon, resilient infrastructure.
The broader thinking is that green projects carry diverse risk profiles; catalytic financing can help create pathways for additional private-sector participation.
Lagos has distributed clean cookstoves in Makoko as an initial step towards the ambition of eight million units. Why is this important?
It is important because climate action must be visible in the lives of ordinary people. High-level financial frameworks and policy declarations mean nothing if they fail to solve every day human challenges. The Makoko initiative is the starting point for our eight-million-unit ambition. It connects the clean-energy transition to households and communities and demonstrates how climate priorities can be linked to everyday living conditions.
For me, that connection is essential. The transition must not become an abstract conversation that happens only in policy rooms or at international conferences. It must have a human dimension.
Beyond visibility, what concrete outcomes are targeted for COP31 in Antalya?
Visibility is not the ultimate objective; our focus is advancing capital commitments through investment and partnership conversations that can move climate priorities forward.
A key highlight is Lagos Climate Investment Day on 13 November, which will bring together government representatives, investors, financial institutions and development partners to explore financing opportunities and advance potential projects.
Why is it important to have Nigerian banks and private-sector organisations in these conversations?
The transition cannot be delivered by government alone, nor can we rely solely on foreign capital. Financial institutions such as Sterling Bank, Keystone Bank, and Stanbic IBTC Bank bring essential expertise in structuring local-currency project finance and managing credit risk.
Similarly, private enterprises like Sun King, RF Garden, and House of Tempos bring commercial operational models in distributed clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and enterprise innovation. Pairing policy with local private finance and delivery capacity ensures our climate solutions build durable domestic wealth.
Lagos has expressed an ambition to become Africa’s first climate investment jurisdiction. What would that mean in practical terms?
It is an ambition to position Lagos as a jurisdiction where regulatory stability, policy coordination, and capital deployment align seamlessly. Investors look for transparency, predictable processes, and contract enforceability. Becoming a recognised Climate Investment Jurisdiction establishes Lagos as an African hub where climate finance connects efficiently with real infrastructure, energy access, and economic productivity.
What has been the biggest lesson from Lagos’ engagements at London Climate Action Week and Climate Week NYC?
One important lesson is that there is significant interest in the climate investment opportunities emerging across African cities, but interest must be matched with clear propositions and well-prepared projects. Our engagements at London Climate Action Week in June and around the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week NYC in September helped advance the presentation of Lagos’ climate investment framework to international stakeholders.
Those engagements proved that when a sub-national government organises its pipeline professionally, institutional capital is prepared to engage.
How do you ensure that the people of Lagos remain at the centre of this agenda?
We must always return to the question of impact. The purpose of climate investment is not simply to mobilise capital or produce impressive financial figures. The ultimate test of this agenda is whether it makes Lagos safer, healthier, more productive, and full of economic opportunity for its people.
When we invest in clean energy, we are also thinking about households, businesses and public institutions that need reliable electricity. When we invest in flood resilience, we are thinking about communities, livelihoods, homes and businesses that need protection. When we invest in sustainable transportation, we are thinking about the daily experience of people moving across the city.
The same applies to waste management, agriculture, water resources, and green enterprise. These investments must respond to real needs and create opportunities for people.
What is your message to businesses and investors assessing opportunities in Lagos?
Our message is simple: Lagos is open to constructive partnerships. Across clean energy, transportation, water, and circular industries, the opportunities are vast. We have built the coordination frameworks and catalytic instruments needed to de-risk investment and turn potential projects into viable, lasting economic value.
Finally, when you look ahead, what would success look like for you and for Lagos?
Success would mean moving from ambition to implementation, expanding clean power, modernising transport, and scaling green businesses. Most importantly, it means embedding a lasting institutional framework and collaborative culture that ensures a resilient Lagos for generations to come.
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