ENERGY experts have kicked against push by western countries to impose a uniform global energy transition plan aimed at reducing carbon emission and checking climate change.
The experts held that countries and regions across the globe should be allowed to chart their own energy transition pathways based on their development needs and access to energy.
The experts who spoke yesterday at the opening of the 16th Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, NAEE, Conference in Abuja said African countries could be expected to sacrifice their need for economic development on the altar of energy transition.
With most African countries lagging significantly in the global energy access index, they held that subjecting countries on the continent to the same requirement was unjust.
In his keynote address, the Secretary General, African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation, APPO, Dr. Omar Ibrahim, declared that the climate change crisis facing the globe today was caused by the developed countries which should bear the responsibility of fixing it.
Dr. Ibrahim noted that it is unjust to expect African countries which contributed very little to climate change to bear the uniform cost of reducing global warming.
While appearing to question the motive behind the push by western countries to impose a uniform energy transition plan, he pointed out that “today’s climate activism is driven more by the quest for energy security by the developed countries than by concerns about the environment. A very good demonstration of this reality is the response of today’s champions of energy transition to the use of fossil fuels in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The very people that announced an end to funding oil and gas projects especially in Africa, ostensibly because they are considered dirty fuels and dangerous to humanity, sent high powered delegations to our countries offering to fund oil and gas projects that for decades were begging for investors.
In his presentation, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed noted that while Africa is a continent that is greatly endowed with all energy resources, it is known to be energy poor and economically disadvantaged as a result of its lack of energy security.
“African energy mix must be developed to ensure an accelerated emplacement of a secured energy supply and access for all, where every available African energy source is sustainably employed for guaranteeing the continent’s energy needs.
“The discussion around a just and equitable energy transition is very much relatable to the African continent, considering that the continent has a negligible contribution to global CO2 emissions compared to the nations that are pressuring the continent towards a misaligned/disproportionate decarbonization energy transition programme”, he added.
Engr. Ahmed who was represented by the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha stressed that “the African continent must ensure that it pursues only energy evolution and transition and reform strategies that would not sacrifice its economic growth, which is required for supporting the highest continental population growth rate”.
