Stakeholders Brainstorm on Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, Seek Govt Commitment

•Say country only mobilised $1.9bn out of $17.7bn annual climate funding requirement

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Several energy, climate and environment experts yesterday met in Abuja to discuss Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), agreeing that if the targets set by the country were  to be met, there would be need for more commitment from the government.

The event was organised by the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation and was supported by the Ford Foundation; Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Nextier.

Speaking during the programme, the Founding Partner, Nextier, Patrick Okigbo III, listed some of the elements that will make the transition succeed as: Strong political commitment, more action and less talk as well as stakeholder coordination, including extractive communities.

He also called for the integration of ETP with other sectoral policies and plans as well as position the transition as central to development and national security plans.

In addition, he argued that there was the need to coordinate national, state, and local government support for the plan and facilitate planning rather than being the primary actor.

The programme was themed: “ Maximising Just Energy Opportunities Through an Inclusive Country Platform”.

According to Okigbo, there was also the need to regulate rather than procure or develop any aspect of the plan as well as enable the private sector to take the lead.

He observed that the global shift to renewables can ultimately cause the extractive communities to be left behind, stating that for the first time the Niger Delta may be irrelevant in global trade.

Okigbo further highlighted that there might be increased conflicts and pollution over abandoned petroleum assets and new resource conflicts over control of critical metals for renewable energy.

To achieve “Just” Energy Transition, he explained that there was the need to place the people and communities at the heart of the process as well as strengthen government’s commitment and leadership.

In his intervention, Lai Yahaya of the African Policy Research Institute (APRI) emphasised that the global South nations were already making strides in renewable energy adoption, utilising solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power for sustainable development.

Despite progress, he argued that a significant financing gap remains between the ambition for a fossil fuel transition and the reality of available investment resources, stressing that Nigeria has only mobilised $1.9 billion out of the $17.7 billion needed annually for its climate goals.

“This leaves a $15.8 billion annual funding gap, underscoring the insufficiency of current investments in meeting Nigeria’s ambitious NDC targets for climate action,” he stressed.

Yahaya stressed that there was also the need to involve key government stakeholders, especially the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the main player in government revenue generation and economic growth, to co- create the plan.

He reiterated the imperative of a significant political commitment and technical resources and ensuring that both aspects are adequately resourced to facilitate effective scaling and implementation readiness.

In his remarks, Nnimmo Bassey of HOMEF, stressed that if the government delivers on its pledges in terms of methane emissions reduction, the energy transition will be turn out a success.

“At the last COP, the loss and damage came into operation, and countries made initial contributions to that fund. Loss and damage actually hold the key to how we should be talking about financing for climate change. We should be asking for recognition that the global south is owed a debt, a climate debt, from centuries of exploitation and damage,” he argued.

 He maintained that the harm done to the Niger Delta environment was so deep that even if Nigeria spends all the money it gets from oil on repairing the environment, it wouldn’t be enough.

Other speakers at the event included: The Director, Partnerships and Development, Yar’Adua Foundation, Amara Nwakpa; Ford Foundation’s Emmanuel Kuyole; Lanre Shasore of Sustainable Energy for All, among others.