Envoy, experts call for renewable energy sector devt

Stakeholders have emphasised the need for Africa, especially Nigeria, to maximise and develop its renewable energy sector to boost and diversify and boost the economy.

Meeting at the Departmental Seminar Series, themed: ‘Africa-Europe Roundtable on Renewable Energy (AERTS) 2024’, organised by the Department of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences, Lagos State University (LASU), the experts hinged economic development on the maximum leverage of renewable energy.

German Consul General, Weert Börner, emphasised the importance of Nigeria building its renewable energy because it’s a better business and an environmentally sound model to add more energy to the grid and save greenhouse emissions produced by fossil sources of energy.

He said that renewables are getting cheaper yearly, which provides an opportunity for developing countries to invest and acquire the infrastructure.

He noted that conventional energy production is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases while stating that Germany aims to become GHG-neutral by 2045 and in a unique position to drive the transformation of the energy system in Europe.

According to Börner, Germany works with a growing number of countries to support the global energy transition. In sub-Saharan Africa, they are partnering with Angola, Nigeria and South Africa.

He noted that Germany and Nigeria have a trade exchange of $3 billion, explaining that the major exchange from Nigeria to Germany is crude oil and agricultural goods, while the other is machinery, chemicals and agriculture.
He said that there are already good trade relations between both countries as there are an increasing number of German SMEs coming into Nigeria, adding that they also have an active chamber of commerce in Lagos.

Börner said that German government and private companies active in Nigeria are focused on vocational training for young Nigerians to improve the existing bilateral relations.

A lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Dr Tobi Oshodi, said Africa is endowed with enormous capacity for renewable energy.

He explained that for Africa to fully harness its potential of using renewable energy for its development and maximise its relationship with Europe in this regard, it must be able to streamline its relationship with other actors like China in the global fight against climate change.
He opined that Africa must design deliberate and measurable strategies to localise its technology for tapping into its renewable resources.

“This means that while European and Chinese technologies are increasingly becoming available in Africa, a conscious effort must be made to domesticate the ‘technical know’ in a manner that does not replicate historical dependence in the long term,” he said.

Oshodi suggested the need for experience sharing among Africa, as the existing disjointed response from its countries could limit the extent to which there can be more beneficial relationships with both Europe and China.

“African governments must take the clean energy transition more seriously and leave the sloganeering that has come to characterise many of the existing initiatives. For this to happen, non-state actors must become more involved in the quest for expanding renewable energy,” he added.