Human factor management in global energy solutions (1)

Successful solutions of green energy and the strategies applied to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (the Greenhouse Gas emissions’ decarbonization) should be publicly deployed and supported by every economically productive human being at all workstations, as the means to salvaging planet earth from further environmental risks. This move has just been demonstrated by a German energy company, RWE, which publicly declared to phase out the burning of coal by 2030. The action alone (when implemented) shall save 280 million metric tonnes of climate-changing GHG emissions. It will snowball into further global warming mitigation processes because some power plants in Europe that are classified as most polluting, including a vast lignite strip mine in West Germany, will definitely shut down. The news is, indeed, of good tiding and a heartwarming development for the present global battle against climate change, and towards making the earth a sustainable place of abode for humankind. This consideration is made in the light of the present threatening environmental devastations and climatic disruptions caused by man’s energy consumption and the usage of fossil fuels for many decades to drive global economic and commercial activities for prosperity.

As a close watcher of global energy matters and an observer of the trend of the earth’s dysfunctional seasonal events, the issues raised with comments and persuasion by the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres at the 2021 Glasgow COP26 energy summit, appear to have started yielding results. One thing that seems very clear here (as a take away) is that, situations and circumstances also play very vital roles in these actions and in general developments. On that note, one would then be advised to think along such lines of action, considering the current energy crises presently facing the European bloc, particularly a country like Germany, that has again sought another gas supply source from Bulgaria (to substitute the Nord Stream 1 pipelines supply). That, of course, is not unconnected with the Nord Stream 1 gas pipelines locked by Russia, resulting from the reactions surrounding the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian war. Surprisingly, still on the energy crisis, this impact of natural gas cut from supplies to the EU countries by Russia has received another turnaround in the earlier decision, as Gazprom has reversed her arrangement to start supplying gas to Italy. These developments clearly indicate that the global energy solutions lie solely on human factor management, which is strategically influenced by economic circumstances.

The two mentioned cases heavily involve dependence on hydrocarbons for energy supplies (regardless of the current climate change mitigation measures being taken). The much talked about energy transition with regards to the above instances has shown that an optimal energy mix management has to be followed and applied by man (on an interim basis) based on its considered economic and social merits, while better solutions are gradually being utilized subsequently. Otherwise, how could it be that in the same economy (Germany) fossil fuel sourced from coal is being dropped while another arrangement is seriously engaging the sourcing of gas (because of the coming winter cold), which is another kind of fossil fuel?  Their applications with regards to the energy mix, are essentially based on both the physiological and psychological principles on both hydrocarbon products (gas and coal) and their respective utilities.

Considering the energy transition from another perspective, the economic benefits attached to hydrocarbon business or the ways the entire OPEC+ nations are busy negotiating crude oil daily production allocations to member nations; for the sole purpose of balancing oil price depreciations at the world market, in the light of the weakening global economy, completely appears to be a different ballgame. This is so, especially as it pertains to the African continent in general or Nigeria in particular; that has vast natural resources but, at the same time heavily depends on hydrocarbons for her economic gains and development.

Nigeria’s speed and scale on energy transition, of course, has to be different from the rest of the developed nations (as already highlighted by the Nigerian president at the COP26 summit) to exit fossil fuel deals by 2060; and diversify its energy mix towards more sustainable renewable energy sources and decarbonization efforts. Industry leaders within the economy are expected to work out an approach that would influence a smooth energy transition. This approach, as expected from the energy experts it is hoped, would be made simpler from the outcomes of the forthcoming 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) coming up from 6th to 18th November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The reason is based on the expectation of making further progress by building on the past successes that would advance into the future by effectively tackling the global challenge of climate change, in achieving the aggressively needed right energy solutions that would sustain the planet earth.

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