- Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has opposed the move to defund gas projects in African countries.
- Africa is the most adversely impacted by climate change
- Transition to clean energy will cost more than $1.6 trillion a year
The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, had raised the challenge of financing gas projects in developing countries in several forums.
“Much of the global investment in clean energy will need to go into Africa. However, instead of prioritising efforts to redirect global capital to our nations, efforts are currently underway to limit the development of gas projects in Africa, violating the principles of equity and justice enshrined in global agreements”, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
He made this submission during a virtual conference themed: Climate, Conflict, and Demography in Africa jointly hosted by the International Crisis Group, the Royal African Society, and African Confidential publications held on Tuesday, 15th September 2021.
The vice president emphasized that despite Africa’s contribution to climate change is negligible, “we continue to be the most adversely impacted by climate change, so much so that public resources that could help modernise the energy mix has to be redirected towards adaptation spending.
Regarding the amount of investments required in clean electricity – generation and grid storage infrastructure, Mr Osinbajo stated that to get the world on track for net-zero emissions by 2050, it will cost more than $1.6 trillion per year. “This is over four times more than what was invested in these sectors in 2020. In regions like Africa, installed electricity capacity will need to double by 2030 and increase at least five-fold by 2050,” he said.
Giving reasons for his argument against defunding gas projects, Mr Osinbajo said, “our first obligation will always be to ensure the wellbeing of our people, through access to development services including electricity, healthcare, education, safe jobs, and a safe environment, including access to clean cooking fuels.
In attendance at the virtual event were the Minister of Environment for Ghana, Kwaku Afriyie, who represented the President of Ghana; Chairperson of the Royal African Society, Arunma Oteh; and Patrick Smith, Publisher of African Confidential, and Bola Mosuro moderated the event.