The Nigeria government has said that it remains committed to pursuing a just and equitable energy transition.
The country’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the Global South Peer Learning Workshop on Country Platforms for Climate Action and Just Energy Transition.
In his address, Bagudu, who was the keynote speaker at the event, stated that the country had established institutions diligently implementing its Energy Transition Plan.
“Our Energy Transition Plan (ETP) is a homegrown, data-backed strategy for achieving net-zero emissions fairly and equitably by 2060,” he told the participants, explaining that the plan, unveiled in 2022, has become the country’s national policy, providing a framework that aligns climate ambition with the country’s development needs.
He was quoted as saying that the country had prioritised five sectors, including power, transport, cooking, oil and gas, and industry, which account for about 65 per cent of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions. He added that universal energy access, poverty reduction, economic growth, and job creation remained the nation’s goals.
The Minister noted that Nigeria’s energy transition plan is multifaceted, targeting emission reductions and enhancing sustainability across all key economic sectors.
He said, “Decarbonising power is central to our strategy in the power sector. Nigeria plans to aggressively expand its generation capacity through renewable sources, such as solar and wind, while strengthening its national grid and distribution networks.
“The transport sector’s priority is to reduce emissions through a two-pronged strategy that involves shifting to cleaner fuels and vehicles while expanding mass transit. Nigeria is promoting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric Vehicles (EVS) to replace gasoline and diesel in road transport.”
He pointed out that the Presidential CNG Initiative was launched to convert mass transit vehicles to run on CNG, utilising gas reserves to reduce tailpipe emissions and lower fuel costs while also informing the audience that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu unveiled a bold initiative to launch an initial fleet of 100 electric buses in Nigeria’s major cities, while prioritising cooking and household energy to facilitate the swift replacement of traditional firewood, kerosene, and charcoal.
He added that the federal government had significantly increased access to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), distributed LPG cylinders and stoves, and implemented policies to ensure LPG was affordable and available.
Story was adapted from Premium Times.
