- The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) has allocated $100 million to boost renewable energy in Nigeria and increase access.
- Osinbajo stressed that the issues of energy in Africa are not just about climate change or an agenda of climate action but much more about ensuring energy access.
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) has allocated $100 million to boost renewable energy in Nigeria and increase access. GEAPP aims to focus on the energy issue in the developing and emerging world, accelerate universal energy access, inclusive economic growth and climate goals through clean energy solutions. Chief Executive Officer of GEAPP, Simon Harford, said at least 700 million people have no access to electricity globally.
Harford stressed that half of the world’s population lacks sufficient, affordable, and reliable energy and noted that developing countries cannot rely solely on fossil fuels. According to him, such a situation, if left to continue, will 2050 push greenhouse gases from developing and emerging countries to 75 per cent, adding that there is a need for a change in trajectory. He said, “GEAPP has been created to work on these twin challenges of energy poverty and carbon reduction created by philanthropy, we are working to bring new models and new ways of solving this problem with our partners, and we are also working to create new solutions to drive down the cost of renewable when renewable is the cheapest solution, the market takes over.”
Country Representative for Nigeria, GEAPP, Muhammad Wakil, said $50 million in naira equivalent is now being made available for local currency debt for renewable energy in Nigeria through a partnership with Chapel Hill Denham. He stressed that it’s a collaboration that provides money in dollars, helping to guarantee naira funding which would then be lent to businesses in renewable energy. Former Vice President of Nigeria and Global Adviser, GEAPP, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said renewable energy can become Africa’s job engine in the wake of energy transition.
Osinbajo stressed that the issues of energy in Africa are not just about climate change or an agenda of climate action but much more about ensuring energy access. At the same time, the energy access issues should be resolved by resolving climate change issues because it’s at the heart of development. He said, “We really have to deal with the questions of energy access and perhaps, for us in this part of the world, one of the critical things that we must pay attention to, and I believe that it is also one of the significant reasons why we are in these alliances with GEAPP and why we must work together towards this is a fact that Africa can no longer just see itself as a victim of climate change, rather, a solution to several issues arising from climate change.”