Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria will need to spend over 410 billion dollars to deliver its energy transition plan by 2060.
A statement by his media aide Laolu Akande, Wednesday, said the vice president spoke at the global virtual inauguration of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
The plan is a roadmap to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change.
The vice president highlighted the significant scale of resources required to attain both development and climate ambitions.
He said that Africa’s increasing energy gaps required collaboration to take ownership of the continent’s transition pathways and the action should be decisive and urgent.
“For Africa, the problem of energy poverty is as important as our climate ambitions.
“Energy use is crucial for almost every conceivable aspect of development; wealth, health, nutrition, water, infrastructure, education, and life expectancy are significantly related to the consumption of energy per capita.
“Nigeria would need to spend 410 billion dollars above business-as-usual spending to deliver our transition plan by 2060, which translates to about 10 billion dollars per year.
“The average 3 billion dollars per year investments in renewable energy recorded for the whole of Africa between 2000 and 2020 will certainly not suffice,” he added.
As vice president, he chaired the inter-ministerial Energy Transition Implementation Working Group.
According to him, the group is currently engaging with partners to secure an initial 10 billion dollars support package ahead of COP27 along the lines of the South African Just Energy Transition Partnership announced at COP26 in Glasgow.
“And although Africa’s current unmet energy needs are huge, future demand will be even greater due to expanding populations, urbanization, and movement into the middle class.
“It is clear that the continent must address its energy constraints and would require external support and policy flexibility to deliver this.
“Unfortunately, in the wider responses to the climate crisis, we are not seeing careful consideration and acknowledgement of Africa’s aspirations,” he said.
On other aspirations of the roadmap, Prof Osinbajo explained that the plan had the potential to create about 340,000 jobs by 2030, and 840,000 by 2060.
