With a global drive to end fossil fuel use, it behooves Nigeria to put its acts together not to be caught napping as the world jettisons dirty fuel use; BENJAMIN UMUTEME writes.
The world is in a rush to transit to a more sustainable energy mix due to the havoc that climate change is wrecking globally. Energy transition is a major change in how energy is consumed and supplied, typically with the goal of limiting climate change. It involves a shift away from fossil fuels and towards more sustainable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Energy transition can help to reduce, promote sustainable development, and stimulate innovation.
Global energy shift
The global energy transition shift from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources is a long-term process that is driven by several factors, including mitigation of climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improvement of energy security, and promoting sustainable development.
Data showed that global investments across all energy transition technologies reached a record high $1.3 trillion in 2022.
Analysts have however opined that the success of the energy transition depends on a transformation of the global energy sector from fossil-based to zero-carbon sources by the second half of this century, reducing energy-related CO2 emissions to mitigate climate change and limit global temperature to within 1.5° of pre-industrial levels.
They argued that energy transition can lead to clean jobs, clean air, economic development, healthier air, and reduced health and economic costs from air pollution.
For the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the decarbonisation of the energy sector requires urgent action on a global scale in order to accelerate the global energy transition and realise both national and regional commitments.
“An aggressive energy efficiency strategy, combined with the ramping up of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels, is the most realistic path towards halving emissions by 2030. Yet phasing out fossil fuels is a complex task for countries heavily reliant on coal – especially given the imperatives of a just and fair transition for workers and communities. Concerted action and international co-operation are therefore essential for timely progress,” the renewable energy agency said.
Globally, there have been efforts to fast track energy transition which includes improving access to raw materials and components, streamlining policy frameworks, increasing renewable energy capacity, improving energy efficiency, the acknowledgement and mitigation of trade-offs, and the redoubling efforts on investments.
Meeting climate action expectations
Experts have said that for Nigeria to achieve its 2060 energy transition target governments need to ensure that investments are on track to meet climate commitments
Nigeria is an example of a country that is making an energy transition albeit at a much slower pace.
For a country that is dependent on fossil fuel for much of its revenue, authorities say a gradual transition is needed with the focus now on using gas as a transition fuel.
At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Nigeria committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 and currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainable energy is renewable energy.
Also, it enacted the Climate Change Act to provide a framework for managing climate change. And in 2022, the country launched its Energy Transition Plan (ETP) to address energy poverty and climate change.
The idea is to, through the National Council on Climate Change, move from these carbon-intensive energy sources, we can decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and minimize their effect on the environment.
Converging on Abuja for the ‘Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Energy Transition,’ experts agreed that Nigeria should put money where its mouth is by focusing on attracting investments into the sector.
According to them, authorities must provide a conducive environment that will attract domestic and foreign investments through the development of its infrastructure and at the same time enhance its policies.
The Director of Power Components at the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), Frank Edozie, said Nigeria is uniquely positioned in the energy transition landscape insisting that the country should look inwards to tackle its challenges.
He stressed the critical role of natural gas in bridging Nigeria’s energy deficit, adding that renewable energy sources alone cannot provide universal access in the short term.
Available data have shown that Nigeria’s natural gas reserves stands at 209.26 trillion cubic feet (TCF), making it the ninth largest in the world and the largest natural gas reserves in Africa.
“The help we need cannot come from outside. We must create the environment to attract the help we need. We have had an exodus of international investment. International investors are leaving Nigeria for countries like Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. To reverse this trend, we need to establish the right conditions for investment.
“People need power, and until we achieve universal energy access, we will remain underdeveloped. Solar energy alone cannot meet our needs, especially during non-sunny hours. Gas is essential for powering our plants and ensuring reliability.
“We must focus on development projects that have measurable impacts on people and generate returns for investors. This will make Nigeria more attractive for climate finance,” Edozie said.
Harmonising policies
Experts have predicted that to get to net-zero emissions, $1.9 trillion is needed to reach this goal. According to them, this includes an additional $410 billion above the projected usual spending, translating to about $10 billion annually.
The Executive Director AfriTal, Dr. Louis Brown Ogbeifun, in his view, insisted that Nigeria’s 2060 target can only be met with synergy among most policy framers, policy implementers in gas and renewable climes.
He said the road might be rough and tough but doing certain things rightly and changing the optics might help the country develop home grown solutions to its energy challenges.
He said, “Defunding of fossil fuel projects, inability to optimally up production activities for various reasons, for example sliding naira against the dollar, sabotaging of oil installations, high debt profile might make it difficult to get the funds needed for gas and renewable infrastructure.
“The Decade of Gas is almost half way. Have met half of the aspirations embedded in the plan and roadmap? There is the need for updates to appraise what could be done in the short, medium and long terms that would make gas available for the transition being planned.
“Nigeria has significant solar and wind energy potential, particularly in rural areas where hybrid energy systems (HES) can provide reliable power. But we seem to be begging for funding instead of right-sizing our plans to fit our realities.
“It is in the realisation that 2024 and 2060 for the net-zero commitment still has a long way to get there that we are engaging policymakers for them to transparently speak to us, which at the end make it possible for all stakeholders to advise and make informed decisions about our energy transition roadmaps. In my opinion, nobody can do it for us. The time to look inward is now. It is time to engage our best in seeking locally proffered solutions to our energy challenges, and that is the only way we can overcome them.”
Striking the right balance
Experts opine that being able to strike the right balance in the energy transition chain would make the process seamless.
The Lead, Domestic Energy Transition, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), Aaron Sayne, noted that in spite of the 2060 target, Nigeria does not have much time.
Sayne said, “But obviously, we don’t have that much time. So, since we’re here to talk about how gas and renewables can live together for Nigeria, we decided we would focus in particular on fuel supply. And what are the challenges there because for gas and technologies like solar and wind, they’re different.
“For gas, you need to figure out how to produce the right amount of gas to run your power plants for decades, over time, as production changes. Whereas for solar and wind, the challenge, or how do you manage the intermittency. The fact that there’s more sunshine and more wind, minute to minute, hour to hour, over much shorter time spans. And that becomes a more complicated problem.
“As was said, the more of the technology you have. So, just to give a sense of why it is violating balance, to keep it simple, if you have too much fuel, you have too much gas, you have too much sun, you have too much wind, you can end up paying for gas or electricity that you don’t need, depending on what your economy says. You can end up having to shut down your plant, and you end up losing power because you don’t have a good plant and you’re running out of water.
“And it can all listen to kind of social, socio-economic consequences. On the other hand, these are transitory conversations and we have these clearly every day. But on top of this is, of course, the enabling infrastructure.”
