Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called for a wider use of gas as a replacement for “dirtier fuels”, saying doing so would “arrest deforestation while ensuring that the country has the necessary energy baseload for industrialisation.”
Receiving the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, on Tuesday night at the State House, the VP said other developing countries would also benefit from the adoption of gas as a transition fuel.
“The use of gas as a transition fuel would not only help in stemming deforestation, it would also advance Nigeria’s broader development goals, especially because Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves in the world,” a statement signed on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, read.
According to the statement titled ‘Energy Transition: Why Nigeria should benefit more from its gas reserves, by Osinbajo,’ the VP highlighted the need for Nigeria to continue the exploration and use of gas as a way of arresting deforestation, transiting from dirtier fuels such as diesel, kerosene and petrol, while at the same time ensuring that the country had the necessary energy baseload for industrialisation.
Noting that Nigeria had one of the largest gas reserves in the world and should benefit from its exploitation, Osinbajo also highlighted the significance of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which was Africa’s first.
The PUNCH reported that Prof. Osinbajo had discussed the Energy Transition Plan during his recent visit to Washington D.C., where the VP met with his American counterpart, VP Kamala Harris, at the White House, among other top US government officials.
Before the US trip a fortnight ago, the Federal Government had launched the Energy Transition Plan at a global virtual event.
In addition to a review of the Energy Transition Plan, including a discussion about its implementation, both Osinbajo and Mr Kerry also discussed the issues of renewable energy sources and the global transition.
In his remarks, Mr. Kerry spoke highly of the plan and also for the efforts already being made in Nigeria to step up the use of renewables, especially solar and hydropower, as major components of the energy mix.
Credit: punchng.com
