President Muhammadu Buhari pledged Nigeria’s commitment to cut its emissions to net zero by 2060 as the country aims at addressing climate change and fostering gas-based energy transition.
Buhari made the pledge as he delivered his national statement at the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland, noting that attaining national and global climate change goals will require adequate and sustained technical and financial support to developing countries.
According to a statement signed by Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman, Buhari emphasised that easier access to climate finance had become imperative in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, which battered the economies of developing countries.
He also maintained that greater effort should be channelled towards assisting developing nations to meet their ‘Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) commitments through the pledges made by the developed countries to provide at least $100 billion yearly.
Making a case for the relevance of gas-based energy transition to actualise economic transformation across all sectors, Buhari requested international partners to finance projects using transition fuels such as natural gas which, according to him, is actually more abundant in the country than oil.
President Buhari also informed the COP26 Leaders’ Summit that Nigeria has developed a detailed energy transition plan and roadmap based on data and evidence.
He explained that the transition plan highlights the key role that gas will play in transitioning the country’s economy across sectors, noting that the data and evidence shows that Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without detracting from the goals of the Paris Agreement.
‘‘Gas will be key for addressing the clean cooking challenge, which is also a challenge of deforestation, and for giving our electric grid the stability and flexibility to integrate renewables at scale. Nigeria will need to integrate an unprecedented 7GW additional renewable capacity each year to achieve net-zero,’’ the statement read.
Speaking further on the area of energy access, the president said the country plans to electrify five million households and 25 million people using decentralised solar energy solutions. This, he said, is a major step towards bridging the country’s energy gap by 2030.
Commenting on green projects in the county, he disclosed that the National Assembly has passed the Climate Change Bill, which provides a framework for achieving low greenhouse gas emissions, inclusive green growth and sustainable economic development.
He enjoined the COP26 members to ensure that the outcome of the conference results in a quick resolution of all outstanding issues pertaining to the finalisation of the Paris agreement rule book, adaptation, mitigation, finance, article 6 and loss and damages.
