National energy policy must revolve around security — Sylva
…Calls for collective combat against CO2 emission
By Gloria Akudoro, Abuja
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H.E Chief Timipre Sylva has stated that every nation’s considerations on energy policy must revolve on energy security as it constitutes a high priority for all countries in the world.
According to him, energy drives economic growth, hence, energy security is synonymous with optimum and long-term economic growth.
The Minister disclosed this while delivering his keynote address at the 2nd day of the 3-Day Nigeria-Africa Natural Resources and Energy Submit in Abuja, yesterday with its theme Towards Greener Africa.
Sylva stressed that energy is an indispensable ingredient for human development and socio-economic prosperity which is central to jobs creation, security, health, and other challenges facing humans.
However, the Minister decried the alarming rate of energy poverty especially in the African continent where millions of people still do not have access to electricity or clean cooking fuels.
He said based on the UN statistics, about 760 million people lack access to electricity worldwide, with 3 out of 4 of them living in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the UN record, “About 760 million people lack access to electricity worldwide, with 3 out of 4 of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. one-third of the world’s population of about 2.6 billion people have no access to clean cooking fuels with over 900 million of these lives in Africa.
“On Average, only 48% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population have access to electricity, while only 18% have access to clean cooking fuels, compared with a global average of 90% and 70%, respectively.
“And on the other hand, World Bank data on CO2 emission is at 4.48 metric tons per capita in 2018, with some regions and individual countries recording five to seven times this value.
“Emission by sub-Saharan Africa in total was only 0.76 metric tons per capita,” he noted.
The Minister therefore called on every country and region to develop a green project to encourage a collective fight against the planner’s constant threat posed by CO2 emission.
He said the initiative should be such that it reflects the realities and conditions prevailing in these places, particularly the socio-economic development and energy needs.
He also stressed on the alarming rate of energy poverty which is also a cause for concern and the approaches to dealing with these problems should not be disjointed but should be addressed in a sustainable manner which must be a win-win situation.”
