Nigeria has a crucial and strategic role to play in the transition to a more sustainable energy future for Africa and the rest of the world, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.
Osinbajo who spoke at the formal opening of the exhibition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja on Tuesday said rapid industrialization was crucial to get millions of Africans out of poverty.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s summit, “Global Perspectives for a Sustainable Future”, the Vice President underscored the significance of the theme for the socio-economic future of Nigeria, Africa and the world.
Drawing lessons from the work done in the last couple of years by the Federal Government’s Energy Transition working group, Osinbajo noted that in his capacity as the Chair of the group working with a strong inter-ministerial team and several energy sector players, it has become increasingly clear that Nigeria has a crucial and strategic role in delivering the sustainable energy future Africa and indeed the world must have in the next few years.
“It is the key sector actors who must do a lot of the heavy lifting to get us there. The truth is, no other sector of our economy is as crucial in the transition to a more sustainable future,” the VP said.
He reiterated his view on Africa becoming the first truly green civilization in the world, noting that “the future is not in Africa as a victim, it is in Nigeria and our continent driving the next stage of global economic progress by becoming the first truly green civilization in the world.”
The truth, he pointed out, is that no other sector of the country’s economy is as crucial in the transition to a more sustainable future.
That future, he explained, was not a future with Africa at the bottom of the food chain in the brave new world of sustainable energy.
“But we must admit that today we have the largest number of individuals without access to power, the largest number without access to clean cooking options; we need rapid industrialisation to get millions of our people out of poverty, and we must do all without worsening global warming,” he said.
The future, he said, was not in Africa as a victim, but in Nigeria and Africa to drive the next stage of global economic progress by becoming the first truly green civilization in the world.
Highlighting the pathway forward for Africa in the transition to a sustainable energy future, the VP noted that Africa could only become the first truly green civilization “by recognizing the opportunity early and intentionally developing all the potential around our natural resources including natural gas, solar and biofuels.”
He further urged that “we must in particular leverage on our renewable energy potential, work actively on green technologies, carbon removal and green manufacturing. And we have a young resourceful workforce too. And quite frankly, it is the energy sector working with the government that can muster the human and material resources to move the needle.”
Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, he said was “a bold and innovative move that calls for the ramping up of solar deployment to about 5.3 gigawatts per year until 2060.”
The VP added that this also included “the production of over 6 billion litres of biofuels annually to make green the transport sector on the path to e-mobility and the transition of at least 2 million Nigerian households to cleaner cooking fuels like Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electricity every year.”
He highlighted the opportunities of initiatives around Carbon Trading, noting that “this holds important opportunities for our oil and gas sector.”
“I have in the past year been working with a dedicated international committee named the African Carbon Market Initiative. The point is to open up the tremendous carbon trading opportunities in Africa. We are also simultaneously working on the Nigeria Carbon Market,” he said.
He referred to the recent initiative between the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Vitol, a private firm, to undertake the CarbonVista joint venture, observing that the fund “would invest in carbon emission reduction projects in Nigeria and promote the Nigerian carbon market initiative.”
While acknowledging that there was still a long way to go, the Vice President emphasised that Nigeria could achieve its sustainable energy goals.
“We have a long way to go, but we are well able to achieve all we have set for ourselves. For me, I think the private sector must also clearly articulate its own sustainable energy ambitions in alignment with our transition plan. Let us act quickly,” he stated.
