Barely nine days of proposing for a Debt-For-Climate Swap deal, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, last night met with the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Although details of their discussions were still sketchy at the time of filing this report, it was believed to be a follow-up on Vice President Osinbajo’s proposal for a Debt-For-Climate Swap deal.
Recall Osinbajo had proposed a Debt-For-Climate Swap deal to achieve a just and equitable energy transition for Africa.
ALSO READ: Osinbajo’s Debt-for-Climate novel idea
He said the swap deal if approved, would significantly advance the course of global net-zero emissions targets and facilitate energy access and the development of African countries.
“Debt for climate swaps is a type of debt swap where bilateral or multilateral debt is forgiven by creditors in exchange for a commitment by the debtor to use the outstanding debt service payments for national climate action programs.
“Typically, the creditor country or institution agrees to forgive part of a debt, if the debtor country would pay the avoided debt service payment in a local currency into an escrow or any other transparent fund and the funds must then be used for agreed climate projects in the debtor country,” the VP said during a lecture at the Center for Global Development in Washington D.C, USA.