By John Ikani
As the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 takes off in less than two days, Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo says African nations expect more developed countries to change the direction of conversations around Energy Transition in favour of Africa at the global summit.
Osinbajo stated this on Thursday at a Virtual Panel Discussion on “A Just Transition: Balancing Climate Mitigation with Africa’s Development”, organized by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
With him on the panel were the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr Vera Songwe.
A statement by Presidential Spokesperson, Laolu Akande quoted the VP as saying conversations at Glasgow must be tilted in favour of Africa, as “the conference will be an opportunity to engage and change the direction of the current conversation especially as it affects Africa.”
According to him, “it is an opportunity to talk, to engage, and I think that we really need to engage. I think we need to just change the direction of the conversation especially as it affects Africa and then talk in concrete terms about what the implications of net-zero emissions by 2050 or whenever, will mean for Africa and the world.”
The Vice President also explained that Nigeria already has a plan for the transition. “We drew up an energy transition plan and we are probably one of the few developing countries to have drawn up a plan and try to cost the plan. This is why we have the figure of $400 billion.
“If you look at what can work, we are looking at Nigerian Climate Change Finance Facility. There’s one which we are working on at the moment with the African Finance Corporation, AFC, and ARM Harith; we are trying to create that facility. We think that we could mobilize up to $10 billion to finance local green projects.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said, “the Federal Government is also on the verge of operationalizing an InfraCo, a N15 trillion Infrastructure Fund which could have a dedicated green finance component as well as projects to reduce emissions from main pollutant activities in Nigeria.”
“There are other initiatives that we are working on, and one of those is being able to exploit our gas resources for as long as it is possible because it is an important issue for us and thereafter, a diversified economy, especially around technology. That would help us a great deal in being able to secure a significant amount of money,” the Vice President added.
What you should know
The COP26 summit is scheduled to hold in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 – November 12.
COP26 is the next annual UN climate change conference. It stands for Conference of the Parties, and the summit will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty that came into force in 1994.
At COP, Global leaders will lay out their plans on how to hit those 1.5 degrees Celsius targets in the Paris Agreement. COP26 is viewed as important because it will set the strategy for closing out the 2020-2030 decade. This year, there is only one basic goal – moblising efforts to deliver on pledges made at COP21 in Paris six years ago. Countries committed to cooperatively reducing greenhouse emissions to keep the earth from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels under the Paris Agreement. Poorer countries have also been offered huge sums of money to assist them cope with climate change and cut their own greenhouse gas emissions.
COP26 offers an opportunity for all countries to reflect on the journey so far and how well they have achieved their previous commitments and way forward on how to take forward their long-term goals.
Unfortunately, previous commitments laid out in Paris did not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees – meaning the years approaching 2030 will be crucial. It is expected that with COP26, countries will be more intentional in keeping the hope of holding temperature rises to 1.5 alive.
