Sustainable Finance and Ecopreneurial Business Models: Assessing the Role of Green Investments on Climate change Adaptation of Abuja's Commercial Real Estate from 2017-2024

Abstract

Background and Problem: Climate change poses escalating threats to urban infrastructure globally, with commercial real estate (CRE) being particularly vulnerable due to its long asset life and high capital intensity. In emerging economies like Nigeria, cities such as Abuja face increasing climate risks, including extreme heat and flooding, which threaten the stability and value of commercial properties. While green investments are promoted as a key mechanism for fostering climate adaptation, their actual effectiveness in driving tangible resilience outcomes within specific market contexts like Abuja's CRE sector remains empirically unverified, creating a significant knowledge gap for policymakers and investors. Need for the Study: There is a critical need to assess the nexus between sustainable finance mechanisms and on-the-ground climate adaptation outcomes in rapidly urbanizing African cities. This study addresses this imperative by investigating whether current green investment flows are effectively translating into enhanced resilience for Abuja's CRE sector, providing evidence-based insights that can guide capital allocation, policy formulation, and strategic planning for sustainable urban development. This study employed a quantitative research design using monthly secondary data from January 2017 to December 2024. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model was utilized to analyze the impact of green investment (gi), renewable energy (res), climate finance (cf), and climate policy index (cpi) on carbon emissions (ce) as a proxy for climate adaptation. The analysis was conducted using Stata software with robust standard errors to control for heteroskedasticity. The regression model demonstrated strong explanatory power (R-squared = 0.9961, F-statistic = 6386.59, p < 0.001). However, green investment showed a positive but statistically insignificant relationship with climate adaptation (β = 0.009, p = 0.268). Renewable energy (β = 0.634, p < 0.001) and climate finance (β = 0.038, p < 0.001) exhibited significant positive relationships with emissions, while climate policy index demonstrated an insignificant negative relationship (β = -0.039, p = 0.521). The findings suggest that current green investments in Abuja's CRE sector are not effectively driving climate adaptation outcomes. The paradoxical results indicate potential issues with investment targeting, measurement frameworks, or the transitional nature of sustainability interventions. The study concludes that strategic realignment of green finance mechanisms, strengthened policy enforcement, and innovative ecopreneurial business models are essential to enhance the climate resilience of Abuja's commercial real estate sector. Recommendations include developing targeted regulatory frameworks, sophisticated impact measurement systems, and integrated design approaches that prioritize genuine adaptation over symbolic sustainability measures.

Keyword: Green Investments, Climate Adaptation, Commercial Real Estate, Sustainable Finance, Abuja