Ahead of the 29th edition of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP29) slated for Azerbaijan in November, governments, individuals and civil society groups have been urged to resist attempts by fossil fuel exploration multinationals, particularly the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to write and determine action plans for the continent in future COPs.
They have also been charged to reject corporate capture and continued extraction of ‘dirty’ energy resources or fossil fuels (crude oil, gas, coal and others) on the continent, maintaining that rather than be a blessing, Africa’s God-given natural resources have largely been a curse on the continent and especially in Nigeria that had seen over six decades of oil and gas exploration.
Executive Director of the Neighbourhood Environment Watch (NEW) Foundation, Dr. Okezie Kelechukwu, made the assertion during a Webinar on the sidelines of this year’s Global Week of Action on Friday, September 13, 2024 with the theme: Climate Finance And The Future Of Fossil Fuels.
During the virtual meeting which featured Special Assistant to the Delta State Government on Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), Lady Diana Ereyitomi Eyo-Enoette and Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Philip Jakpor, Dr. Kelechukwu stressed the need for host communities of natural resources to be conversant with the laws guiding the exploration of the natural resources in their domains.
Responding to a question on the reason(s) for commemorating the Global Week of Action in Nigeria, he argued that the issues of fossil fuels extraction have created a lot of tension and crisis in the global environment and especially in Nigeria and Africa.
He maintained that while fossil fuels accounted for about 60 percent of global energy needs, renewable energy sources remain at its lowest, accounting for only 11 percent of global resources, insisting that there is the need for governments, organizations, groups and individual investors to explore alternative energy sources with a view to mitigating the devastating impacts of climate change in Africa.
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“Giving the very negative impacts of the climate crisis worldwide, there should be no new approvals and financing for exploration of fossil fuels, as the Nigerian government was bent on doing in Bauchi, Gombe and other parts of the country, in spite of making commitments to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in combating the climate crisis,” he stressed.
Also speaking at the Webinar moderated by Oru Chinelo, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Fillip Jakpor, argued that decades of oil and gas exploration had brought untold hardship and deprivation to the host communities of the Niger Delta region, lamenting the same pattern of reckless mining was beginning to rear its head in communities where Lithium has been found across the country.
He expressed concerns that Chinese firms masquerading as agrobusiness investors were already engaged in irresponsible mining of Lithium in Nasarawa and parts of Edo, Cross River, Kogi and Kwara states, adding that host communities must be adequately represented and given their right if responsible and accountable mining of Lithium, which he described as ‘transition mineral’ must take place in those communities
His words: “Oil and gas has not brought the promised benefits to the local communities and the nation at large aside pockets of people who expropriate the wealth for themselves. Nigeria’s policies are in conflict-one of the first countries on the continent to pass climate laws yet we are still using oil wealth to search for oil in the north. In the same vein, Nigeria was listed among 9 biggest flare entities globally in 2023.
“These developments do not show seriousness. The fossil free future we want may elude us because we are not at the drivers’ seat in terms of governance of the transition minerals like lithium. The Chinese are all over Nigeria extracting without responsibility.
“A just energy transition must include plans to compensate or reward oil and gas workers who might be affected by layoffs and disengagements from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the event of a total and comprehensive transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources in the short, medium and long-term.”
Also in her intervention, Eyo-Enoette drew attention to the fact that the climate change crisis was exacerbating because countries, especially those in the Global North have failed in their responsibility to own up to their activities, which have been causing more greenhouse emissions globally than the rest of the world.
She maintained that if the world must make headway in the struggle for an equitable and sustainable future for the environment, the International Oil Companies must do more of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, insisting that was the only way the world will not lose the climate crisis war.
Citing climate mitigation efforts of Sahara Energy Group, she the company has initiated projects to reduce climate change impacts and achieve a sustainable environment, adding: “The company has introduced some machines and equipment that are less dependent on fossil fuels and those equipment have been very helpful in reducing gas flaring in the companies areas of operations, especially in Delta State and the South-South region of the country.”
