We’re winning debate for gas as transition fuel -Osinbajo
By Stephen Gbadamosi
Again, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has restated the need to designate gas as a transition fuel in the global net-zero emissions target by 2060, even as he observed that Africa is now winning that argument.
Professor Osinbajo spoke while receiving a delegation of Executive Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), led by the Dean of the Board, Mrs. Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, on Thursday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“We know what the issues are; we know there is no way we are going to do away with gas. The European Union, fortunately, agrees that gas should be regarded as a transition fuel as well as nuclear power.
“I think that we are winning the argument in some ways in that respect, and it might also be the time to focus on what to do in terms of finance,” he said.
According to a statement made available the vice president’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, while delving into the issue of climate finance, Professor Osinbajo informed the delegation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and the cost implications, disclosing that transitioning to net-zero would be in the order of “$400 billion leading up to 2060.”
He said further that “we simply have to think more seriously about innovation in climate finance and look at the various options.”
He said AfDB had some very interesting options, and that the African Finance Corporation (AFC) was also looking at what their options could be, DailyTimes gathered.
Aside the need to continue to invest in gas as a transition fuel, the vice president also pointed out the usefulness of the rainforest as a means of reducing carbon dioxide, noting that Nigeria’s rainforest was able to absorb significant tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
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In her own remarks, the Dean of the Board, Mrs. Lekhethe, representing South Africa and other countries, said the visit to Nigeria was mainly to “listen, learn and use the opportunity to visit some of the bank’s projects which included a solar energy site being created at Wuse Market in Abuja.”
She stated that the board had a meeting with Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State and other development partners, visited Lagos and had an engagement with the private sector.
Mrs. Lekhethe noted that a key takeaway from their visit was that in spite of challenges exacerbated by COVID-19, Nigeria had pockets of success and they were pleased to see these successes.
