Investment in renewables will provide 60% of Nigeria’s Energy demand by 2050– Report

A new report has revealed that investment in renewables will provide 60% of Nigeria’s Energy demand by 2050.

The report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), is tilted “The report, titled: Renewable Energy Roadmap Nigeria.”

The report said renewable energy sources will enable up to 40 per cent savings in natural gas and 65 per cent in oil needs at the same time.

Director-General, IRENA, Francesco La Camera, said: “By using its abundant, untapped renewables, Nigeria can provide sustainable energy for all its citizens in a cost-effective manner.”

The report further stated, “With a growing population and a range of socio-economic challenges, Nigeria requires sustainable energy sources to meet the growing needs for all the sectors of its economy and achieve universal access to modern energy services.”

“The study encompasses all key sectors of the Nigerian energy system to provide additional context for energy policy discussions on how increased ambition in terms of renewable energy beyond current government policy and targets can be realised.

“Renewable energy can help Nigeria not only meet its energy needs but also power sustainable economic growth and create jobs while achieving global climate and sustainable development objectives.

“The actions needed to realise this future are multi-faceted and include policy, regulatory and financial related actions to place Nigeria on the path to a transformative future.”

IRENA insisted that policies for the accelerated deployment of renewables are needed to unlock the report’s benefits, noting that policy coordination is essential to unlocking successful integrated energy transition planning in Nigeria.

U.S., Bezos, Rockefeller Foundation announce next steps on Energy Transition Accelerator

The U.S. Department of State, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund announced on Sunday, the next steps in developing the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), a joint initiative to catalyze private capital to accelerate the transition from dirty to clean power in developing countries.

The three partners introduced the broad outlines of the ETA at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in November in Sharm el-Sheikh with the aim of undertaking an inclusive process to fully design the initiative in the lead up to COP 28 this December in Dubai.

In a session today at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Bezos Earth Fund Chief Executive Officer Andrew Steer, and The Rockefeller Foundation Executive Vice President Elizabeth Yee announced a set of broad principles that will guide the ETA, the formation of a High-Level Consultative Group to provide input informing its development, and a core team of experts and institutions contributing to the ETA’s design.

The ETA’s aim is to help keep a 1.5°C limit on warming within reach by driving private investment in comprehensive energy transition strategies that accelerate the deployment of renewable power and the retirement of fossil fuel assets in developing countries.

Recall that annual clean energy investment must triple to $4.2 trillion by 2030 to keep 1.5°C within reach, according to the International Energy Agency.

As envisioned, the ETA will support country-driven energy transition strategies through a high-integrity voluntary carbon market framework that will generate carbon credits representing verified greenhouse gas emissions reductions and make them available to qualified private sector and sovereign government buyers.

In accelerating the clean energy transition, the ETA will aim to deliver deeper, earlier emissions reductions, help developing countries achieve and strengthen their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and advance broader sustainable development goals, including expanded energy access and poverty alleviation. It also will generate new finance to strengthen adaptation efforts in vulnerable countries.

The High-Level Consultative Group helping to inform the ETA’s development will include leading experts across a wide range of regions and constituencies representing civil society organizations, standard-setting initiatives, private sector coalitions, and intergovernmental bodies. Participants confirmed to date are listed below.

The Department of State, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund are collaborating for the purpose of developing the Energy Transition Accelerator as an independent initiative.

The partners’ efforts to develop the ETA are being supported by a strong team of experts and institutions, with lead coordination provided by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). In designing the ETA, the partners will seek broad alignment with evolving best-practice standards, including those of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the Voluntary Carbon Markets Initiative (VCMI) and the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM).

COP28 president demands increase in Adaptation finance for global south by 2025

COP28 President Designate Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber has called for adaptation finance for the ‘Global South’ to be doubled to $40 billion annually by 2025, to enable the progress towards net zero.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on Sunday, he said that that climate finance needs to be more affordable and accessible.

In his first speech since being appointed as COP President-Designate, Al Jaber emphasized the need for an inclusive, action-oriented approach to transform systems and accelerate trajectories in the fight against climate change.

“We don’t need to wait for the Global Stocktake to know what it will say. We are way off track. The world is playing catchup when it comes to the key Paris goal of holding global temperatures down to 1.5 degrees. And the hard reality is that in order to achieve this goal, global emissions must fall 43% by 2030,” Al Jaber said.

The COP28 President Designate noted that the UAE is the host country of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the first in the region to commit to the Paris Agreement, the first in the region to submit a Nationally Determined Contribution, and the first to set out a roadmap to net zero.

“Today, over 70 percent of our economy is generated outside the oil and gas sector. And as the CEO of ADNOC and the founding CEO and Chairman of Masdar, I will continue to follow our leadership’s vision and guidance in making today’s energy cleaner, while advancing and investing in the clean energies of tomorrow. And we will use our experience, our ambition and deep network of partnerships to inform our approach to COP28,” he said.