Nigeria Signs Clean Energy Demand Initiative Agreement with US

The Nigerian Government and the United States of America have signed an agreement on the Clean Energy Demand Initiative to sustain the government energy transition plan.

The signing of the agreement was done when the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Mr John Kerry paid a working visit to Nigeria’s Minister of Environment in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

According to the Minister of Environment, Muhammed Abdullahi, the agreement will ennsure that Nigeria makes clean energy accessible.

“We are excited to see you and to see how we can explore opportunities for collaboration for effective implementation of the set goals. like you mentioned earlier, Nigeria has register milestones in our efforts towards achieving net zero commitment of Mr. President by 2060,  part of what we trying to do with the concept of the President is to actually pass the National Climate Change Act. the National Climate Change Act is basically to mainstream all Climate Change issues being operated in silos, in various MDAs ministries, departments, agencies of government, and then to see how we can also mainstream the private sector practitioners in Climate Change activities,” The Minister explained.

Similarly, Mr. John Kerry noted that the US has committed  $200 million to the startup and the process of safety for the program.

“So the program that Minister just signed is an initiative that started in Glasgow, which is the Clean Energy Demand Initiative, and it’s a way by which companies and countries can make decisions to try to implement the buying or the production of green products and to accelerate the marketplace creation in that will help us transition faster to a Clean Energy Economy in order to deal with the Climate crisis,” Mr. Kerry stated.

Job Opportunities

He said that the future and citizens of Nigeria would benefit from cleaner air, and job opportunities that would come with the transition.

“But we know that ultimately this transition is going to take billions of dollars and even trillions of private investment. And we talked today about the ways in which we can be helpful to bring major amount of capital to the table with technology to help Nigeria, move faster to the clean energy economy,”  he explained.

Climate Change Action

Mr. Kerry also said that the US government  would work with the Nigerian government to implement its climate change action plan, its long term future and sustainability for Nigeria and the African continent.

“We would like to explore with you how we can increase the ambition that you have set out already in your NDC,s in the Nationally Determined Contribution NDCs, the plans of the National Council on Climate Change recognizing that Nigeria is a very important country with respect to the crisis that we face, you are a producer of fossil fuel you have enormous gas reserves. But you also have great respect for the land and great concern about how to proceed forward. and so I would like to explore with you and listen to you to think through how we can work together as you implement your own climate change.” Mr Kerry added.

Confidence Okwuchi