Gabriel Aduda, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, has expressed worry over the absence of investment in Nigeria's net-zero and energy transition plans by 2060, totalling around $10 billion.
The Permanent Secretary made this statement during a Ministerial Roundtable discussion at the ongoing World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Calgary, Canada, on the theme 'What Does the Energy Transition Mean for Your Country?'
Aduda highlighted that various global leaders had made commitments during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, pledging this significant amount to support Nigeria's agenda for achieving net-zero emissions by 2060. However, these commitments came with specific conditions.
The failure to secure these investments has raised concerns about Nigeria's ability to meet its net-zero emissions targets and transition to cleaner energy sources effectively.
Aduda's remarks underscore the importance of international cooperation and financial support in addressing climate change and facilitating sustainable energy transitions in developing countries like Nigeria.
"The truth of the matter is that promises were made as to how the initial injection of 10 billion dollars was going to be done. But, l sit here to tell you that not a cent has been moved,’’ he said.
He explained that part of the conditions was that transition to renewable does not come cheap.
Aduda said, "One of the things that Nigeria is not shy to say is that ‘‘we do not have the finances to get it done."
He insisted that if Nigeria was going to reach net zero by 2060, it would require a large infusion of funds into the system from the nation.
He added that there would be support from all over the world, particularly from nations that were in charge of large emissions.
"Now these issues were agreed to and promises were made at COP26, but how much of these promises have been fulfilled?
“The truth is that Africa still sees huge financial exclusion when it comes to the issue of climate change and we have always said it and the numbers are clear.
“In 2021, 2022, 600 billion dollars of green burns were generated but less than 0.26 per cent came to Africa.
“When we made this commitment at COP26, His Excellency, the then president, said we would need at the very beginning about 10 billion dollars with a target of 410 billion dollars till 2060,’’ he said.
He claims that a sizable portion of this cash will go into building infrastructure, particularly gas infrastructure, throughout Nigeria.
According to the permanent secretary, when it comes to renewable energy, Africa continues to be the most compliant region.
He asserts that this is so because Africa has demonstrated that no other continent has come close to matching it in terms of renewable energy.
He claimed that out of the 54 nations in Africa, about 30 employ some type of renewable energy.
He cited Kenya as having 70% renewable energy as an example, and quite a few other nations could likewise boast at least 40%.
"But, what we have been able to put together across all the continent. No other continent is as compliant as Africa is, yet, Africa is the least emitter of these hydrocarbons or contributor to the climate issues that we are dealing with.
“More importantly, what does energy transition mean to us as a country? A lot. We totally understand that we are a very rich country in natural resources and our very strength is in gas, which in Nigeria is even much more than crude deposits.
“The proven quantum of gas that we have is about 260TCF with the potential for more. Now we have identified gas in Nigeria as our transition fuel.
“We have tried to rally round in all our policies, everything we need to see that would work within a framework, that allows us to push domestic injection of gas across Nigeria and of course across Africa.
“Because we have always exported gas, NLNG, name it, and we are still working that we reach out with our deposit to other African countries and even beyond," Aduda added.
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