By Yemi Olakitan
The repercussions of climate change are being felt worldwide. Drought, heatwaves, floods and landslides are now more frequent as a result of global warming. Pakistan is still feeling the effects of its most recent flooding crisis, while the UK earlier in July 2022 experienced its highest temperature ever (40.2 degrees Celsius). A few countries in south-east Asia have been ravaged by abnormally severe monsoon rains and flash flooding, which have killed scores of people, forced thousands of others from their homes, and destroyed important agricultural areas. There have been floods in 59 of Thailand’s 77 provinces, impacting around 100,000 hectares of crops and nearly 450,000 dwellings.
Nigeria, like other nations, is not immune to the consequences of global warming, as evidenced by the recent flooding that affected numerous parts of the nation. According to Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, the most recent flooding in Nigeria resulted in the deaths of over 603 people, the displacement of 1,302,589 individuals, and the destruction of over 108,393 hectares of agricultural land.
In addition, according to Umar-Farouq, 2,407 people were hurt in the disaster, 121,318 homes were partially damaged, and an additional 82,053 homes were completely destroyed. Additionally, 108,392 hectares of farmland in Nigeria were partially damaged, and an additional 332,327 hectares were completely destroyed.
Nigeria emits only 0.5 percent of the roughly 50 billion tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) that are released annually into the atmosphere on a worldwide scale.
The focus on energy transition, or the switch from the production and use of energy based on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro, has been prompted by the need to combat global warming. Through various types of decarbonization, the transition—made feasible by technical development and a deliberate push toward sustainability—aims to lower energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, power produced from renewable energy sources has been shown to be more economical. However, in the transition scenario, not all fossil fuels are treated similarly. For instance, natural gas is thought to be crucial to the move toward Net Zero. Natural gas was approved as a transition fuel by the European Union (EU) early in 2022 under its sustainable taxonomy. Nigeria, which possesses over 209 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves that can be used to support the country’s transition to Net Zero by 2060, benefits from the EU’s selection of natural gas as a transition fuel.
In an effort to show its dedication to reaching carbon neutrality, eradicating energy poverty, and promoting economic growth, Nigeria unveiled its Energy Transition Plan in August 2022. Power, cooking, oil and gas, transportation, and industry are the main topics of the strategy. The plan, which outlined Nigeria’s strategy for achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, was introduced with the assistance of other energy industry participants, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Osinbajo stated in his remarks that it was time for Nigeria and other African nations to take control of transition paths and develop climate-sensitive plans to address odd growth aspirations.
“There is an obvious need for African countries to participate more actively and vocally in discussions on the future of our global climate,” he said. More significantly, we must take responsibility for our transitional strategies and create climate-sensitive plans that support our growth goals. With its energy transformation plan, Nigeria aimed to achieve this. With the goal of achieving SDG Seven by 2030 and Net Zero by 2060, it was created to address the twin issues of energy poverty and climate change.
“We anchored the plan on key objectives, including lifting 100 million people out of poverty in a decade, driving economic growth, bringing modern energy services to the entire population, and managing the expected long-term job loss in the oil sector due to global decarbonization, while centering the provision of energy for development, industrialization, and economic growth.
Given these goals, the plan acknowledges natural gas’s role in facilitating the construction of this low energy capacity and addressing the nation’s clean cooking gap by providing LPG in the short term.
The plan envisions thriving sectors driven by low-carbon technologies, streets crowded with electric cars, and livelihoods supported by plenty and clean energy.
By 2030 and 840,000 jobs by 2060, the plan can generate roughly 340,000 employment each. Additionally, it offers a rare chance to implement a really low carbon and quick development model in Africa’s biggest economy.
Osinbajo had, however, urged wealthy countries to support Africa and not treat the continent with double standards in the effort to reduce global warming through the adoption of renewable energy in a previous guest article titled “The Hypocrisy of Rich Countries’ Climate Policies” published in Savannah Energy’s 2021 Annual Report.
Reaching our development and climate goals will necessitate far greater outside assistance as well as the same kind of policy latitude that wealthy countries claim for themselves in the energy transition, he added. Otherwise, we cannot accomplish our objectives. Global rules are rapidly limiting Africa’s options for energy technologies despite the enormous energy deficits. Rich nations, particularly those in Europe, have frequently urged African nations to only adopt renewable energy sources. The concept that Africa can “jump” to new energy technology, much as how we skipped landlines for mobile phones, is largely to blame for this.
The dogma of using exclusively renewable energy is partly motivated by irrational concerns about the continent’s future emissions. But under no conceivable scenario does Africa pose a danger to the world’s climate goals. Even in the area of cooking, where gas projects offer immediate and significant benefits, some funders will not support any such initiatives. The majority of Africans still cook with charcoal or wood, which causes deforestation, premature death from indoor air pollution, and unnecessary carbon emissions. The rise of Africa should be seen as a huge opportunity rather than a threat that needs to be stopped.