Nigeria has emerged the sole African mention among 20 nations identified as possessing the most remarkable sustainable energy potentials in the world.
The heat maps help identify countries and regions around the world making the most progress on key sustainable energy issues
The other countries are: Brazil, Mexico, United States, Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, China, Turkey, United Kingdom, Iran, India, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia.
Using the latest energy data from its knowledge partners, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has launched newly updated “heat maps” on its web site that help identify countries and regions around the world making the most progress – and facing the biggest challenges – on key sustainable energy issues.
The four sets of heat maps are focused on access to clean cooking, electricity access, energy efficiency and renewable energy – all key topics of Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for achieving affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Billions of people lack access to modern energy today.
Each of the heat maps identifies 20 “high-impact” countries facing the biggest challenges on specific sustainable energy indicators. In the case of electricity access and clean cooking, for example, the high-impact countries are all in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. SEforALL has also posted fact sheets for each indicator, which highlight key trends and countries making the biggest gains.
“By combining and analysing data in these heat maps, we can show global leaders where they can make the biggest and fastest inroads towards our goal of universal energy access for all by 2030,” said Jane Olga Ebinger, Director of Policy at SEforALL, “The maps also show where big gains are happening so that we can replicate the success of others and help leaders in government, business and civil society make smart choices.”
Ebinger will be posting weekly blogs on the heat maps in the coming weeks. SEforALL will also be posting guest blogs from its partners and doing extensive social media promotion via the hashtag #SDG7HeatMaps
Most of the data for the maps is from the 2017 Global Tracking Framework report, which has been assessing progress towards SEforALL objectives since 2013. The Framework uses available data from household surveys and international databases to track access to electricity, clean cooking sources, improvements in energy intensity and increases in the share of renewable energy compared to overall energy consumption.
The maps also draw on data from the Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy – commonly known as RISE – which evaluates 111 countries on the quality of their policies and regulations for energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Eradicating malnutrition could increase wages by between 5% and 50% and is a sure way of breaking an inter-generational cycle of poverty in Nigeria, according to Scale Up Nutrition Business Network Nigeria (SBNN), a civil society group.
A malnourished child
Speaking recently in Lagos at a one-day symposium organised by the Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM), Ms Ify Ibiso of SUN Business Network added that good nutrition can prevent “child deaths by more than one third per year, improve school attainment by at least one year, reduce poverty as well-nourished children are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults and empower women to be 10% more likely to run their own business.”
She noted that at least 33% of Nigerian children under five years are stunted, 18% wasted, 2% overweight, while only a paltry 17% of the under-fives are exclusively breastfed.
Ms Ibiso called for improved media awareness and reporting of nutrition, adding that her organisation is always ready to partner with journalists to not only give proper perspective to the topic but also ensure that nutrition is given adequate attention by all relevant stakeholders.
She added: “The media is an important ally in any public health situation and in this case focusing on nutrition. It serves the role of Influencers and Investigators and is a source of correct information as well as an advocate for correct health behaviours; but before the media can take on their roles, they need to understand nutrition, the issues surrounding it, and policy and practices, in order to convey the right information.
“The SUN Business Network is willing and ready to partner with the media to improve the nutrition of the Nigerian populace especially for children.”
Benue Radio Station, Wurukum Market and seven other communities were submerged following Saturday (August 26, 2017) night’s heavy downpour in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
A flooded neighbourhood in Makurdi
Commissioners for Land, Survey and Solid Minerals, Bernard Unenge, and Water Resources and Environment, Joseph Utsev, went round the town for situation report on Sunday.
Ustev explained that the ministry needed adequate funds to mitigate the situation, adding that the disaster was caused by blocked drainages in some areas.
He said the Transmission House of Radio Benue, Wurukum Market and Low Level were submerged as a result of the downpour.
Other communities affected were: Welfare Quarters, Benue State University, New Kanshio, Rice Mill Wadata as well as Idye and Achusa.
He urged the Federal Government to include Benue State among the states to benefit from the N1.6 billion ecological intervention funds for states affected by flood disasters.
The commissioner said the state has not received any ecological assistance from the Federal Government since 2013.
Ustev said: “Benue Government is looking for ways in which River Benue can be dredged. This is because by dredging the river, majority of the water can be accommodated to prevent future overflow.
“The ongoing research so far showed that the preliminary study will cost about N8 billion, while the main project will gulp about N300 billion. This is where we need Federal Government financial intervention to execute the project, since the funds are much.”
Ustev said the dredging would also encourage economic activities to be serviced by the state’s Cargo Airport.
Flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey is overburdening resources in the US as authorities in and around Houston in Texas scramble to save those trapped by the high waters.
Vehicles are stranded as road network is flooded
Hopes for an immediate respite from Harvey’s wrath seem unlikely as the National Weather Service calls the flooding “unprecedented” and warns things may become more dire if a record-breaking 50 inches of rain falls on parts of Texas in coming days.
The rainfall threatens to exacerbate an already dangerous situation, as Harvey’s rains have left many east Texas rivers and bayous swollen to their banks or beyond.
“The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before,” the weather service said. “Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for days.
The storm killed two people in Texas, authorities said, and the death toll will likely rise. More than 1,000 people were rescued overnight, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner warned that some 911 calls are going unanswered as operators “give preference to life-threatening calls.”
Here are the latest developments:
A woman who drove her vehicle into high water in Houston was killed, and fire killed a man in Rockport.
Several states and the US military are sending emergency workers and equipment to Texas. In Harris County, though, authorities are having issues mobilising those resources. “We’ve requested boats, all the things that would normally happen in a well-planned response to an event like this, but they can’t get here,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.
Dallas announced its plans to open a “mega-shelter” capable of accommodating 5,000 evacuees at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. County officials, charitable groups and local hospitals are working to open the shelter by Tuesday morning.
While Turner warned the rain could exacerbate flooding for “four to five days,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long said he expects his agency “is going to be there for years.”
The Houston Independent School District has canceled school for the week.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports are closed until further notice, and Corpus Christi International is closed for at least 24 hours, officials said. Jack Brooks Regional Airport in Beaumont, Ellington Airport in Houston, Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas and McCampbell-Porter Airport in Aransas Pass are also temporarily closed, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
Ben Taub Hospital, which houses a Level I trauma center, is being evacuated after flooding in the basement “disrupted the power source,” Emmet said.
316,000 customers have lost electricity, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
The Red Cross is serving about 130,000 meals a day, the governor said.
President Donald Trump will travel to Texas on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Almost 41 million people have been affected by flooding and landslides in India, Bangladesh and Nepal and there is possibility the situation could deteriorate further as rains continue in some flood-affected areas, a UN agency said.
Millions of people have been affected by flooding in India, Bangladesh and Nepal
United Nations humanitarian agencies are working with the Government and partners in Nepal to bring in clean water, food, shelter and medical aid for some of the 41 million people affected by flooding and landslides in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Nearly a thousand people have been killed, and tens of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
“There is the possibility that the situation could deteriorate further as rains continue in some flood-affected areas and flood waters move south,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said recently in an updated note.
The note said governments in all three countries are leading the response with support from in-country humanitarian agencies, national Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, private sector and militaries. However, many areas remain inaccessible due to damage to roads, bridges, railways and airports.
In India, rescue operations are ongoing in many flood- affected areas, with those stranded being rescued by helicopter. More than 600 people have died and 32.1 million people have been affected with the floods, OCHA said.
Rescue operations are ongoing in many flood-affected areas, with those stranded being rescued by helicopter. Flood relief camps have been established for those displaced by the disaster where they are being provided with food and shelter.
The number of camps is increasing as the flood-affected area continues to expand. The government recently announced additional funding for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation.
In addition to people suffering, Indian authorities also reported large parts of a famous wildlife reserve park destroyed, with endangered animals killed.
In Bangladesh, nearly 2,000 local medical teams have been deployed, even as one-third of the country is reportedly underwater. Aid workers are concerned about waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea and malaria.
“Their most urgent concern is to accessing safe water and sanitation facilities,” OCHA said earlier this week, citing national authorities.
It also warned of dangers to women and children, who are at increased risk for abuse, violence and sexual harassment.
Pascal Mittermaier, Global Managing Director, Cities, The Nature Conservancy, underlines the need to plant more trees in order to protect vulnerable settlements. He stresses that, in rapidly heating cities, climate change is an environmental justice challenge
Tree planting at the LUFASI Nature Park, Lagos, Nigeria
If you want evidence of climate change’s devastating effects, just look at the news over the last few weeks. Phoenix, Arizona got so hot planes couldn’t land. Iran set a new record temperature of 54°C. Perhaps most frightening, a devastating heatwave continues to grip much of Europe, killing at least five people so far and causing droughts, wildfires and transit shutdowns – Italians have dubbed the weather event “Lucifer.”
One can argue there’s nothing new or remarkable about summer heatwaves, of course. But what isnew and remarkable is their frequency and intensity, and they’ll likely get worse if we don’t take steps to curb climate change. Cities will be particularly hard hit, as the urban heat island effect – caused by sparse vegetation and heat-absorbing surfaces like asphalt – can result in temperatures as much as 12°C higher than in less-developed areas nearby. While the heat island effect will remain consistent as the climate changes, the additive challenges of higher temperatures and paved cities will make many neighborhoods less livable.
And for certain neighborhoods within cities, the situation is even worse. The urban heat islands are most prevalent in lower income neighborhoods, where residents are also less likely to have air conditioning or easy access to public cooling centers. In our fast-heating cities, climate change is threatening those who are already most vulnerable.
Urban planners and public health officials are grappling with the best way to approach this complicated issue. But there’s one solution we can implement now with a big impact: plant more trees. Trees and other vegetation naturally cool the air around them by shading surfaces and releasing water vapor. And while the effects are local – most of the improvement is within 100 metres – they can still be meaningful, reducing temperatures by up to 2°C.
The Nature Conservancy has carried out a study of 245 cities around the world that stand to benefit from tree-planting initiatives, assessing their efficiency and return on investment. Compared to other ways to cool outdoor air temperatures, such as white roofs, trees deliver similar benefits per dollar spent. Urban trees can also reduce fine particulate matter air pollution, a problem that contributes to 5 percent of all deaths worldwide each year.
Given that the most significant effects of trees are highly localised, we found that densely populated megacities in Pakistan, India, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia would benefit most. Yet this also means that within cities there are will be individual neighborhoods that could benefit, depending on their density and existing level of vegetation. This is an advantage both for efficiency and from a social equity standpoint, as planting can be targeted directly to those neighborhoods with greatest need.
Trees also offer a huge range of other benefits. In addition to the cooling and air quality benefits, trees provide habitat for wildlife, reduce storm-water runoff, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, which helps to mitigate climate change. There is also a growing body of research showing that exposure to trees and other vegetation has a positive effect on mental health, especially for children.
Trees are not a cure all, of course – it will take a comprehensive set of solutions to make our cities cooler and healthier, and it will take concerted action on the national and international level. Because our climate science indicates that heatwaves will only get worse: a new report from the European Commission predicts that if we don’t limit climate change, much of the world could regularly experience heat indices (a measure of the combined impacts and heat and humidity) as high as 55°C – significantly higher than those in the 2003 heatwave that killed 70,000 people across Europe.
Trees are only a small part of the complex solutions required to reduce the possibility of such heatwaves and the deaths that would surely accompany them. In order to keep the climate in safe boundaries, we’ll have to both decarbonize our economies and invest more in natural climate solutions – strategies such as avoiding forest loss, reforestation, investments in soil health and coastal ecosystem restoration that maximise nature’s carbon storage potential.
But local communities don’t have to wait to take action – when it comes to mitigating the effects of climate change for city residents, municipal leaders can lead the way. Planting trees is a strategy that can be implemented now, and one that is particularly beneficial for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged urban populations. If we want cooler, safer communities, now is the time to plant them.
A professor of Virology, Oyewale Tomori, has said that the recent outbreak of Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) simply shows the country’s weak surveillance of the disease.
Prof. Oyewale Tomori
Professor Tomori who is also the immediate past president of the Nigeria Academy of Sciences (NAS), spoke exclusively to EnviroNews at the end of a two-day meeting organised by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to track the cause of recent outbreak.
“Come 2019, less than two years from now, Nigeria would have been under the control of Lassa Virus for 50 years, yet, we still do not have answers to important questions as to the when, the who, the why, the how, and the what of the disease. We have set up as many Committees on Lassa Fever as the number of reported cases with no much progress.”
According to him, the virus is spreading rather than being controlled because funds released to implement recommendations of past years have been misappropriated.
“We can boldly say that past governments have paid lip service to and neglected the control of Lassa Fever in Nigeria,” he said.
“In the past 10 years, many more states are reporting the occurrence of Lassa Fever, whereas, when it was first discovered in 1969, and until 2005 or thereabouts, we had, on the average, only 4 states reporting such cases. In the last 5 years, up to 20 states reported Lassa Fever cases. Last year there were 23 states reporting and in the first 7 months of this year, no less than 18 states have reported Lassa Fever cases.”
It will be recalled that two patients died of Lassa Fever at LUTH in early August. No less than 100 different hospital workers were exposed to this index case are currently being monitored.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting which held in Abuja on Tuesday, August 22, 2017, the virologist stated: “The meeting was a recognition of the fact that we have made little progress on our Lassa Fever control efforts. There was a renewed promise by the government to make positive changes. Aside of that, we had a chance to really appreciate how unprepared we have been in dealing with Lassa ventures.”
Reacting to the likelihood of the recent dirts in Lagos as being a trigger for the outbreak, he remarked: “First, I do not think Lagos State is dirtier or filthier than other towns in Nigeria. I think on the issue of filthiness, our states and towns are involved in a keen competition to see who wins the title of the filthiest state /town. In any case, I understand that the index case did not reside in Lagos. She was brought in to LUTH from another town in another state. So if we talk of filth, we should check the original source of infection and not blame Lagos State.”
Explaining further, he said, “We know that filth attracts rats and some rats are natural hosts of Lassa Virus. Therefore it is not surprise that as we grow filthier, so are we likely to have closer and more intimate contacts with rats, increasing the chances of getting Lassa Fever, if the rats in question are those that are natural hosts for the virus. It is likely that the filth all around us has attracted and brought rodents closer to our living areas, increasing rodent-human contact and exposure to Lassa Virus infected rodents. This is a subject we need our scientists to study with adequate support from the government.”
Some of the recommendations for better control of the disease he said are as follows: “…getting a reliable national disease surveillance system backed by efficient and rapid laboratory diagnosis, not just for Lassa fever alone; improving patient care and protecting health care workers from nosocomial infections through effective infection control practices and taking the lead in the conduct of Lassa Fever vaccine trials in Nigeria. The government must take the community as allies in these ventures. My hope is that the current government will re-visit those recommendations,” he added.
Lassa fever, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of two to 21 days duration that occurs in West Africa. The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.
Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures.
Professor Tomori noted: “To improve surveillance and laboratory support, we need to provide the adequate resources and funds annually for infrastructure, reagents, supplies, transportation for surveillance officers, personnel at all levels – federal state and LGAs.”
As the Federal Road Safety Corps held its 7th annual lectures series on Thursday, August 24, 2017 members of the international community have rated Nigeria among countries with robust road safety strategic agenda, with calls on other nations to emulate it.
Corps Marshal Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi (right) looking through a document with the UN Secretary General Special Envoy on Road Safety, Jean Todt, during the 7th Annual Lecture Series of the Federal Road Safety Commission at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. Photo credit: Abayomi Adeshida
This was the main focus of this year’s annual lecture delivered by the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Road Safety, Jean Todt, who was the Guest Speaker at the FRSC 7th annual lecture series held at the Banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, in the lecture, titled: “Achieving the Goals of the UN Decade of Action For Road Safety in Africa,” Todt stated that in his past meetings with Presidents of other African countries, one of the issues that had continued to top his discussions with them was the need for them to promote issues of road safety in their countries.
This, he said, was because of the debilitating effects of road traffic crashes on the social and economic wellbeing of the people of the African continent.
He however expressed happiness that Nigeria is not only operating a road safety lead agency, but has been at the forefront of campaigns for safer road environment within the West African sub-region and African continent at large.
The UN Envoy described the situation of road traffic crashes in Africa as very disturbing and called on governments of the region to devote more resources in tackling the menace.
He stressed that if Nigeria could sustain its commitment to road safety through increased investment in the campaign, the country stands the chance of attaining the target set by the United Nations in its Decade of Action of Action For Road Safety: 2011-2020.
Todt said: “Nigeria is doing well in road safety agenda in Africa, and it should sustain its investment for the effects to become manifest.”
Speaking on the importance of road transportation in Nigeria, the UN Envoy declared that for a nation whose citizens depend largely on road for their transportation needs, the only way to contain the menace of road traffic crashes was for the government to ensure that it invests adequately in road safety, adding that the nation must do more to move road safety agenda forward through various means including legislation and public awareness creation.
He also called on the Nigerian government to do more in streamlining its data collation system to make it align with that of the World Bank for a harmonious data from the country.
“Nigeria could serve as an example for other nations through credible data management; but this cannot be achieved without some level of investments in data processing and cost,” he stated.
Furthermore, Todt disclosed that as part of the commitment of the United Nations to tackling the issues of financing road safety programmes, a special road safety fund is being conceived by the UN General Assembly.
He called on the Nigerian government to support the initiative to make it a success and create a situation where accessibility to safe and affordable road infrastructure could reach majority of the people by 2030.
In addition, he called on the people to support road safety activities as a national agenda, noting that road safety is an all inclusive programme.
In his address, the Special Guest of Honour and Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of State for Works, Power and Housing, Alhaji Suleiman Hassan, congratulated the leadership of the FRSC for the success it has achieved through the FRSC annual lecture series, which serves as an avenue for creating public awareness on issues of road safety in the country.
According to Osinbajo, the vision behind the establishment of the FRSC as Nigeria’s lead agency for road safety management and administration 29 years ago, has been vindicated, adding that the menace of road traffic crashes remains a source of concern not only to the country but most developing economies of the world and attracting the attention of the UN General Assembly.
The Vice President disclosed that at the First Global Conference on Road Safety held in Moscow, Russia in 2009, member states of the UN agreed on the need to dedicate the next decade to road safety with focus on campaigns against the menace of road traffic crashes and massive participation of governments, non-governmental organisations, communities, religious and traditional institutions as well as the media on how to contain the menace.
“The declaration of 2011-2020 as Decade of Action for Road Safety by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, was therefore, the most audacious demonstration of the commitment of the world body to tackling the challenges which road traffic crashes pose to mankind,” he stated.
Osinbajo maintained that Nigeria as an active member of the United Nations has been unrelenting in its commitment to fighting the scourge of road traffic crashes in the country and the West African sub-region through evolvement of various measures.
He further noted that aside having a road safety lead agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring safer road environments in the country with full legislative powers and autonomy of enforcement, Nigeria was the first nation in the Africa Continent to activate the UN Decade of action campaign in 2010 under the auspices of the Federal Road Safety Corps to set the roadmap for attainment of the goals.
“The FRSC Annual Lecture Series, inaugurated some years back, forms part of the nation’s activities aimed at creating public awareness on issues of road safety among various stakeholders,” he added.
The Vice President commended the United Nations for giving prominence to issues of road safety in the country and across the world as demonstrated by the choice of Todt, assuring that Nigeria remains committed to sustained investment in road safety.
“Let me state that part of Nigeria’s commitment to the success of the UN Road Safety campaign is the nation’s continuous and expanding scope of legislative review of the law setting up the FRSC to enhance its capacity to enforce and boost the competence of its personnel through their capacity development as well as massive logistics support by the Federal Government,” he stated.
He further assured that as a leading nation in Africa with Afro-centric foreign policy objectives, Nigeria will continue to render necessary support to the FRSC to make it possible for it to extend technical assistance to the neighbouring countries in Africa for them to establish their road safety lead agency in saving them from threats of road carnage.
“I must however stress that keeping the road safe is not a responsibility which one government agency can successfully handle alone, except with the support of all citizens and stakeholders who must join hands in the spirit of shared responsibility,” Osinbajo said.
In his welcome presentation, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, expressed worry at the rate at which road traffic crashes affect the social and economic wellbeing of the people of the country.
According to Osinbajo, road transportation remains the most dominant mode of transportation in the country.
The Corps Marshal disclosed that in the determination of the FRSC to tackle the menace of road traffic crashes in the country, FRSC took the strategic decision to key into the Accra declaration of 2007-2015 and the African Road Safety Charter, 2011-2020, all of which aligned with the national development agenda of Vision 20:2020.
The goals of these declarations, he said, were to assist in combating the road safety challenges of the country and the African continent at large.
These include development of safe system approach, activities and multi-sectoral involvement and an all inclusive approach.
Oyeyemi pointed at the adoption of the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy Document 2014-2018, which aimed at achieving 35 per cent fatality reduction as one of the strategic outcomes of government interventions in matters of road safety in the country.
He commended the Federal Government for sustaining its support for the FRSC, saying the investment in road safety by the government has yielded positive result as evidenced by the reduction of the rate of death, which was 16,382 in 1982, but down to about 5,053 in 2016.
The FRSC boss expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the FRSC’s adoption of Safe System Approach, saying it led to reduction of Nigeria’s fatality rate to about 6,000 death per annum.
The Corps Marshal further stated that FRSC will continue to make efforts that could result in improvement in its crash data capturing mechanism and analysis while the nation strives to meet the target of crash without death.
“Sustaining the safe system approach will set Nigeria among the top of the 20 safest nations in the world by 2020,” he stressed.
Other speakers at the event, which attracted huge foreign and local participants, included the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Habibat Lawal; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammed Bello; and the Chairman of the occasion and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
The pioneer Chairman of the FRSC Board, Prof. Wole Soyinka, added his voice to the call for people to take personal ownership of issues of road safety.
Among those that graced the seventh edition of the FRSC Annual Lecture Series were the UN Representative in Nigeria; the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; some past Chairmen of the FRSC Board; top government officials; road safety practitioners from home and abroad; representatives of military and paramilitary organisations in the country. members of Diplomatic Corps; Civil Society Organisations; transport unions; and stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
It would be recalled that the idea of the FRSC Annual Lecture Series was conceived some years back as part of the strategic initiatives for creating public awareness on issues of road safety.
Accordingly, eminent scholars, road safety experts and transport administrators as well as top government officials have always been selected to present lectures on various topics that could engender people’s consciousness on issues of road safety.
Most African nations have been dragging their feet in the development of their power systems owing to the prime reason of upfront cost of erecting new power plants as well as electricity grids. However, the benefits derivable from energy as a tool for development cannot be overemphasised. Fortunately, its significance to industrial growth in Nigeria is being appreciated now.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)
Likewise, many governments have been slow to pass and implement policies to attract investment in the power and energy sector. The icing on the cake is that generating power from renewables such as wind and solar is now as affordable as using fossil fuels in various places. So, a great opportunity exists for Nigeria to open its arm and embrace the clean energy revolution.
Africa is seeing a great revolution in the energy sector as Kenya, Ethiopia, and South African nations are championing the development of the renewable energy systems. The benefits of renewable energy utilisation to a developing nation such as Nigeria cannot be overstated. This is because the population growth in Nigeria is very robust with increasing industrial activities as well as the attendant economic challenges and environmental pollution.
The Need to Abandon Fossil Fuel
It is a well-known fact that the Nigeria’s industrial activities have been powered by the dirty fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil for many decades, with the many negative consequences to both human health and the environment, with the exception of hydro power. The overall energy production consists mainly of hydroelectricity and the exploitation of the nation’s vast oil reserves.
So, Nigeria is in immediate need for rural electrification as well as improving its existing power infrastructure. Erratic power supply and intermittent outages coupled with associated risks of using fossil fuels remain a great challenge to the sector. This has forced Nigeria to look at alternative energy sources to power small and off-grid systems.
Renewable Energy – solar, wind, biomass is the answer!
Renewable Energy in Nigeria
Renewables have already been taken up in Nigeria with hydropower as the major viable source of renewable energy, but solar energy is yet to be massively exploited for street lightings mostly in the cities. Although Nigeria has little investment in renewable energy, it really has some favourable conditions in place to attract clean energy investment.
About 60% of the people in Nigeria are living off the grid, and these are the population that is facing highest electricity tariffs in the whole of Africa. This challenge coupled with the poor electrification of rural areas should make way for investment in renewable energy such as solar power in off-grid and micro-grid applications – as a reliable alternative to take the country to greater heights.
The targets of achieving clean energy are threatened by energy produced from gas which accounts for 81.6% of the total energy production in Nigeria, and the lack of trust in Nigeria’s currency by foreign investors as the country is mainly dependent on its exported oil. Besides, Nigeria has one of the top 10 natural gas endowments globally and is the biggest in Africa.
But these threats are surmountable.
However, the Nigerian Government through its Ministry of Power is committed to making a sustainable energy available for up to 75% of her population by the end of 2020 and all her citizens by the end of 2030 by linking an average of about 1.5 million homes in a year.
Equally, the feed-in tariff regulation approved by the Nigerian Government aims to use Nigeria’s vast and mostly untapped resources for Renewable Energy as well as stimulate investment in the energy sector. So, a total of 2,000 MW is expected to be generated through Renewables such as solar, wind, biomass, and small hydro by the end of 2020.
Renewable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Power generated in most parts of Africa is by old fossil fuel plants and generators, while 65% of the total amount of energy produced in 2012 came from either coal or gas source. The techniques employed in the process are highly unsustainable and have proven to be very expensive for both the government and the end user. This has paved way for industry experts and researchers to look for alternative energy sources.
The most popular renewable energy source in sub-Saharan Africa is hydro-electricity which accounts for 22% of the total energy produced in the region. This energy source has proven to be a major competitive alternative to fossil fuels as a result of its high energy yields and low consumer costs.
The sub-Saharan Africa region is one of the largest and relatively untapped areas with respect to energy investment. Although dysfunctional grid structures and low overall infrastructural development are common issues in the sub-Saharan region which need to be addressed for development to take place, there is the need to invest in renewable energy to fuel economic growth as the region is economically viable.
However, the region is heavily plagued by low electrification rates, lack of access to the main grid of the host country coupled with the fact that the costs of solar PV are declining while projects are becoming attractive; this has provided a lot of better opportunities for solar PV projects within the region.
The region’s inherent prominent qualities have proven that solar energy can be a reliable solution to meeting the increasing energy requirement. Notably, the region contains nations that have the highest irradiation levels in Africa such as Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Kenya. These potentials are already been exploited on a micro-level through the mini-grid and off-grid ideas.
At the moment, about 37% of these projects contain solar energy component, which is expected to increase to 47% by the year 2040 as a result of new policies in the region.
In the bid to reduce greenhouse gas in the energy sector, every country in the sub-Saharan region has incorporated components of renewable energy in its power sector reforms which are expected to increase in the years ahead.
“Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa that is rated as having enough INDIC, and it has developed an elaborate Green Economy Plan and is strategising for a carbon-free status by 2025, making it a highly ambitious country in controlling climate change,” according to Climate Tracker.
Also, “the Ugandan government has shown initial support for Renewable Energy by making a policy in 2007 with the overarching objective to increase the use of modern Renewable Energy from the current 4% to 61% of the total energy consumption by the end of 2107,” says IRENA.
Conclusion
The problem of providing electricity for Nigeria in particular and sub-Saharan Africa, in general, is rapidly taking the most important position of investment in the developing world and will remain a reference point in the region’s economic future. So, energy experts are of the opinion that countries in this region should collaborate more on a local level to solve the climate change and energy crisis problems.
Prime Minister of Fiji, Voreqe Bainimarama, believes that the country’s aim as the incoming president of the COP23 is to build greater resilience for all vulnerable nations against extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Prime Minister of Fiji, Voreqe Bainimarama, speaking about COP23 at the Methodist Church Conference at Centenary Church. Photo credit: Fijian Government
While addressing the members at the Methodist Church Conference at Centenary Church on Thursday, August 24, 2017 in Suva, Bainimarama says that government has implemented the Environment Levy to ensure plastic bag usage is reduced but leaders in church can make a far greater impact if they continue to emphasise on climate change issues in the community or at home.
Bainimarama says that Fiji’s vision is to advance the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and preserve the multilateral consensus for decisive action and address the underlying causes of climate change.
He believes this will harness innovation, enterprise and investment to fast track the development of climate solutions that will build future economies with net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Bainimarama has acknowledged the work that Ambassador Nazhat Shameem and Agriculture Minister Inia Seruiratu is doing to negotiate with bigger nations to agree to Fiji’s proposal on climate change.
He says that Ambassador Shameem, who is the Chief Negotiator for the COP23 Presidency, plays an important role in overseeing the formal negotiation process on behalf of Fijian Presidency.
Bainimarama says that if we do not act, then we are prepared to see low lying areas gets flooded and government will spend more money in relocating villagers.
Early this year, government identified 63 villages in the country to be relocated after Tropical Cyclone Winston last year.
Bainimarama urged the members of the church to stand with him in fighting for the future generation and stand up for the other Pacific island nations.
