Director-General, Nigeria Country Department, African Development Bank Group, Lamin Barrow, has said Nigeria can meet its climate objectives and enhance energy security by diversifying its energy mix with a greater adoption of renewables. Quoting the International Energy Agency, he stated that 80 percent of Nigeria’s power generation was from gas, and the remainder from oil, with Nigeria the largest user of oil-fired backup generations in Africa. According to him, to fulfill the energy needs of its growing population, the International Energy Agency estimates that investment in renewables must increase by 165 per cent by 2040.

He said Nigeria could tap into new and emerging renewable energy technologies such as Green Hydrogen as the potential in Africa is huge. These were contained in his recent presentation in Abuja obtained by New Telegraph over the weekend. Barrow said: “How does a country like Nigeria accelerate the economic development process by following a low-carbon development pathway?” Put differently: How can Nigeria pursue policies and investments in the renewable (clean) energy space to achieve rapid economic growth while meeting the global climate goals. and convenience relying on user experience in payment security, seamless authentication methods, and biometric and tokenized payments.

On how emerging technologies will impact the payment industry, he disclosed that while Blockchain will be deployed to ensure secure transactions, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will be used in fraud prevention even as privacy-preserving computing impact cannot be underestimated. Amede called on players in the payment industry to continue to educate consumers by providing them with tips on how to secure online payments, how to recognise phishing attempts, and the importance of keeping software updated.

He listed some of the best practices for businesses including reg-“The answer lies in having a better understanding of what the climate-energy nexus means for Nigeria and ensuring a well-coordinated implementation of the National Climate Change Act which is expected to drive the achievement of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030, as well as Net Zero carbon emissions target by 2060 under Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan. “In its 2021 Report on “Financing a Just Transition in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities,” the African Development Bank acknowledged that in countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, faced with high reliance on fossil fuels and with large informal sectors, ensuring a just energy transition will require huge financing outlays to transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy generation sources.

This calls for huge capital outlays, financial innovation and strong social protection systems to make up for the revenue and job losses incurred by moving away from fossil based modes of energy production.” He stated that funding for renewable energy projects and investing in green jobs and financing the re-skilling necessary to absorb the labour force would be fundamental. Quoting the Energy Transition Plan, Nigeria is committed to transition to net zero by 2060 and the 30:30:30 principle remains central to achieving a just energy transition. He stated that this requires the country to achieve 30,000 MW of power generation capacity by the year 2030 (from the current 13,000 MW of installed capacity), out of which 30% should be from renewable energy.

He noted that gas remains a strategic transition energy source for Nigeria with the power sector currently fueled by gas at the rate of 80 per cent with hydro accounting for 20 per cent. He noted that while Nigeria has several off-grid and decentralised renewable energy systems mostly in rural locations, less than one per cent of the renewable energy generated is connected to the national grid. He said the integration of renewable energy in the energy mix was crucial for Nigeria’s energy transition. He advised that this can be achieved through the following actions: promoting decarbonisation through carbon markets; embedding innovative technology to catalyze green growth; and scaling-up the use of natural gas for transportation and as transitional fuel.

Others, according to him, are scaling- up in renewable energy technologies; and providing fiscal incentives to promote renewable energy, including smart subsidies, tax holidays, investment grants and import exemptions. He advised that in the urban areas, there should be more focus on energy efficiency in both new and existing buildings; designing buildings to utilise more natural lighting to minimise energy consumption; in addition to policy reforms, ecolabelling, and development of a carbon market sending the right signals to investors and consumers.

Barrow said: “Through the Climate Change and Green Growth Framework Policy (2021-2030) and the Nigeria Country Strategy Paper (2020-2024) the African Development Bank is supporting the Federal Government’s Nigeria’s efforts to diversify the Nigerian economy and rollout of low- carbon technologies, including solar clean cooking solutions, energy efficient technologies, as well as gas monetization and reduction in gas flaring.

“The African Development Bank has also rolled out several flagship initiatives and leveraging partnerships to scale up climate action and green investments aimed at fostering a climate-resilient and decarbonized future in Africa. “We are witnessing the impacts of climate change across the Nigerian economy. For instance, Nigeria’s total GHG net national emissions, was estimated at 712,638 Giga grams of CO2-equivalent in 2015, with agriculture, forestry, and other land uses being the major contributors (about 70%), followed by energy at about 28 per cent.

Please follow and like us: