Nigeria Banks on Energy Transition Plan to Pull 100m Citizens out of Poverty

For the umpteenth time, Nigeria’s federal government has hinged its target of pulling 100 million Nigerians from the shackles of poverty on the implementation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP).

The Minister of State for Power, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, stated this Monday, at the Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF2022), which was held virtually, insisting that delivering net-zero target required $1.9 trillion spending up to 2060.

Also at the forum, the European Union (EU) promised to support Nigeria in its energy transition plan by contributing some €400 million worth of projects and programmes to achieve the plan.

The minister stated that aside pulling 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, the ETP would also help to drive economic growth of the country.

“It will also bring modern energy services to the full population and managing the expected long-term job loss in the oil sector due to global decarbonisation. The plan focuses on the rapid build out of sustainable energy systems to tackle energy poverty in the nation,” Jeddy-Agba added.

He explained that in designing the plan, key targets from relevant policies and initiatives such as the 2020 Economic Sustainability Plan, the Nigeria Electrification Project, the National Decarbonisation Programme, and the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) would be met.

He said the plan had been approved by the Federal Executive Council and adopted as national policy, noting that an Energy Transition Implementation Working Group (ETWG) had been established to drive the implementation of the ETP along with key international partners.

The ETWG, he said is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and made up of several key ministers including the Ministers of Environment, Finance, Works and Housing, Petroleum Resources, Foreign Affairs, and Power.

“The Working Group and its secretariat, the Energy Transition Office, have been engaging with in-country stakeholders, development partners, financiers and the international community for the delivery of the plan,” the minister said.

He added that the ETP analysis showed that delivering Nigeria’s net-zero target required $1.9 trillion spending up to 2060, including $410 billion above business-as-usual spending.

Earlier, the Team Lead, Green Economy Co-operation Section, European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Inga Stefanowicz, said Nigeria was not standing alone in this ongoing transition.

She said the EU would contribute some €400 million worth of projects and programmes to the ETP, explaining that, “This amount may seem modest when compared with the needs and the ETP estimates, but it is also the role of our funds to act as catalysers of change, reforms, private sector and international development finance investment.

“We are proud to have achieved such positive spillovers for Nigeria already and we look forward to working together more.”

The Chairman of NEF 2022, Dr. Daniel Adeuyi, said, “practical actions on project financing, people development and policy implementation must progress at pace to achieve the target of 30GW installed generation capacity by 2030 with 30 per cent share of renewable energy Nigeria.”

He said the NEF2022 webcast was focused on capacity building for energy professionals, policy makers, business leaders and consumers.

Adeuyi said that it demonstrated cross-industry collaboration and contributions towards ensuring a sustainable, just and people-centric energy transition.

 Peter Uzoho

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