Experts have warned that Nigeria and other developing countries should not be coerced into a premature transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, as part of the global push to mitigate climate change.
Rather, they suggested that there should be a just transition that reflects the socioeconomic peculiarities of developing countries, especially those who are signatories to the 2016 Paris Agreement.
This was in tandem with the concern raised by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who said that the decision by multilateral finance institutions to defund oil and gas projects was coming too early and would be particularly hurtful for African nations who contribute the least to the global greenhouse emission.
Osinbajo said this during a virtual address at the 20th meeting of the Joint Planning Board and the National Council on Development Planning held in Maiduguri, Borno State recently.
Speaking with The PUNCH in separate interviews, a petroleum engineer, Dr Bala Zaka, and a former President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (Nigerian Council), Joe Nwakwue, stated that transitioning from fossil fuels to cleaner energy would not be a uniform journey globally, as each country was in a unique stage of its socioeconomic history.
Zaka said, “The transition is very much needed today because it will ultimately lead to better health and a better climate for everybody.
“However, if you want to key into a movement, whether national, continental or global, the first thing you need to do is to look at your peculiarities.”
To manage these pressures, he said fossil fuel-dependent countries must develop and implement policies that would ensure funding from their own projects.
Source: Punch
