Renewable Energy: Brace Up for Challenges, Opportunities, Buhari Tells African Leaders
Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Minister’s of Mines and Energies across Africa to as a matter of urgency brace up for the challenges and opportunities that will come with energy transition as the continent yearns for development.
He urged the ministers to collaborate as the world shifts away from fossil fuel to clean and renewable energy.
The President, in his address at the inaugural Energy Investment Summit, themed, “Towards a Greener Africa,” said: “in the fight against climate change, in the midst of this energy transition lies many challenges and opportunities for a continent yearning for development.”
Represented at the summit by Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilenka Adegbite, he noted: “I’m delighted to see various African nationals gathering here today to deliberate and create a framework within which future cooperation and collaboration can take place.
“I believe this should spur us as a continent of diverse people to co-operate and collaborate more, initiate innovative solutions to the challenges that are peculiar to us, come up with technologies and products that will lead to the growth and industrialisation of Africa in a more environment friendly manner while encouraging the development and financing of green energy projects.”
Buhari, while charging all countries who are signatories to the declaration of cooperation to strengthen their shared goals, said: “With the world focusing on discovering and utilising clean sources of energy in order to cut down carbon emissions to protect the world from further climate change, and the first Nigeria Africa natural resources and investment summit is to chart a way forward for the development of natural resources and energy projects in a sustainable and climate friendly manner.”
He further stated that the summit will provides the opportunity to share views on natural resources and energy market development that will lead to the growth and industrialisation of Africa in a more environment friendly manner while encouraging the development and financing of green energy projects.
In his good will message, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Mr. Zubair Dada said he believed the summit which is tagged: towards a greener Africa, is apt and timing especially considering the climate change and its challenges are issued that Africa can no longer ignore.
He stated that the challenges requires collective effort and resolve to overcome them and the need to adjust the country policy to become greener if we are have to safeguard our planets and of course safeguard the future.
Dada affirmed that Nigeria has taken very good steps to align with the global energy transition through a combination of technology, investment, business strategy and policy in order to transit to meet current energy systems to whole carbon energy systems because natural gas play a pivotal role over the next generations.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite hinted that participating countries in the declaration of cooperation would strengthen their cooperation, through joint assessment and viewpoints, with the aim to financing sustainable African Natural Resources and Energy Projects that are key to the transition, “for the benefit of producers and consumers and to regularly review at technical and ministerial levels the status of our cooperation.”
The inaugural Energy Investment Summit had in attendance: Minister of mines and steel development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite, Minister of mines and energy from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Gambia, Libya, Kenya, Chad, and Nigeria’s state foreign affairs, Zubairu Dada among others industry stakeholders.
