By Hauwa Ali
The federal government has launched Nigeria’s energy transition plan , a guide to achieving energy access by 2030 and a carbon-neutral economy by 2060, adding that it would cost $410Bn to a have climate-friendly energy sufficiency in the country.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo,who launched the plan on Wednesday, at the global virtual inauguration of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan said the plan was designed to tackle energy poverty and climate change crisis,
According to him, Nigeria will lift 100 million people out of poverty with theplan, as well as drive economic growth and create jobs.
He added that it is time for Nigeria and the African continent to take ownership of transition pathways and design climate-sensitive strategies that address peculiar growth objectives.
“There is a clear need for African nations to engage more critically and vocally in conversations on our global climate future,” he said.
“More importantly, we need to take ownership of our transition pathways and design climate-sensitive strategies that address our growth objectives. This is what Nigeria has sought to do with our energy transition plan. The plan was designed to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change and deliver SDG seven by 2030 and net zero by 2060.
“While centering the provision of energy for development, industrialization and economic growth, 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 full population and managing the expected long term job loss in the oil sector due to global decarbonisation.
“Given these objectives, the plan recognises the role of natural gas in the short term to facilitate the establishment of this low energy capacity and address the nation’s clean cooking deficit in the form of LPG.
“The plan envisions vibrant industries powered by low carbon technologies, streets lined with electric vehicles, and livelihoods enabled by sufficient and clean energy. The plan has the potential to create about 340,000 jobs by 2030 and 840,000 jobs by 2060. And it presents a unique opportunity to deliver a true low carbon and rapid development model in Africa’s largest economy.”
Osinbajo said the transition plan requires a significant scale of resources which includes spending $410 billion by 2060.
“Nigeria would need to spend $410 billion above business as usual spending to deliver a transition plan by 2060 which translates to about $10 billion per year,” he said.
The vice-president added that Nigeria has set up an inter-ministerial energy transition implementation working group and is “currently engaging with partners to secure an initial $10 billion support package ahead of COP27.
At the virtual event, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, Nigeria Country Director for World Bank, said the bank planned to commit over $1.5 billion towards the Energy Transition Plan on renewable energy, power sector reforms, clean cooking, and wherever opportunities arose.
On his part, Mr Adam Cortese, Chief Executive Officer, Sun Africa stated that the inauguration of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan had further accelerated efforts, proving Nigeria to be fertile grounds for investments in the sector.
“We are in the final stages of discussion with US EXIM Bank on a 1.5 billion dollars financing package,” he said.
Speakers at the event commended Nigeria’s leadership and pioneering role in the region.
They emphasised the need for data-driven country-level energy transition plans that recognise the unique pathways each country would need to take in order to achieve a just, inclusive and equitable energy transition for all.
There were also remarks from Nigerian Ministers and officials including the Ministers of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, Power, AbubakarAliyu; Works and Housing, BabatundeFashola; Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and Managing Director, Rural Electrification Agency, Ahmad Salihijo.
Other speakers included the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Amina Mohammed; Minister of Petroleum and Energies from Senegal, Sophie Gladima; and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy from Egypt, Mohamed El-Markabi.
Representatives of the United Nations, Sustainable Energy for All, The World Bank, African Development Bank, IRENA, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet also attended the event.
OlumideIdowu, a Nigerian climate change activist, in a presntation, said: “As we know, we cannot achieve a just and equitable energy transition without the proper resources.
“For too long, the scales have been unfairly tipped to benefit regions and countries that already have enough electricity to live a decent life and who already have access to flexible financing options.
“But climate change is an equal-opportunity hazard that will require all of us to find the resources needed for the world to transition. No one can be left behind in this global fight for our planet.
“We must move beyond discussions of how much to how soon we can finance the global transition.
