The European Union has announced that it will continue to rely on natural gas as it transitions from coal and fossil fuel as a source of energy.

The EU’s stance is similar to the position held by Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who has argued that international funding for natural gas should not be stopped for developing countries like Nigeria as the world transitions from fossil fuels.

The EU’s position was made public Thursday in a press conference at the ongoing COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

According to Bloomberg, European Union climate chief, Frans Timmermans, gave the signal that the bloc is considering a role for natural gas under its green rulebook for investments, setting up a clash with some national governments and climate activists.

Mr Timmermans was quoted as saying that an exit from coal for some member states, like Poland, would require an “intermediary stage” using natural gas. “It would be subject to strict conditions, including pre-fitting pipelines so that they can carry hydrogen and de-carbonized gases after the transition from natural gas ends”.

According to a report by Friends of the earth, “EU’s support to controversial gas projects rather than stopping subsidies for fossil fuels will see renewed support and taxpayers’ money given to unnecessary and climate-damaging fossil fuels for the next two years and potentially much longer.”

According to Bloomberg, Environmental groups have criticized the potential inclusion of natural gas in the EU’s so-called taxonomy, the set of rules determining whether certain investments can be classified as green.

“They say that it would result in the bloc avoiding its responsibility to keep global warming below 1.5-degrees Celsius, and that it may open the door to also include nuclear energy.”

Portugal’s Environment Minister Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes said the EU’s gas policy is not safe “It’s not safe, it’s not sustainable and it costs a lot of money. There are many other options, especially wind and solar.”

Osinbajo has been saying the same
The EU’s position is similar to what Nigeria’s vice president has been echoing for a few weeks before COP26.

Mr Osinbajo argued that developed countries’ decision to stop funding fossil fuel investment abroad is an unfair position, especially because these wealthy nations have profited from oil and gas for many decades.

According to Mr Osinbajo, a global transition away from carbon-based fuels must account for the economic differences between countries and allow for multiple pathways to net-zero emissions.

For countries such as my own, Nigeria, which is rich in natural resources but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people, cities, and industry. To the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable, and just—which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication, as enshrined in global treaties such as the 2015 Paris climate accord,” he said.

Mr Osinbajo’s position was later supported by the African Development Bank and some American scientists.

Also, in his presidential speech at the climate conference, President Muhamadu Buhari reiterated Nigeria’s government plan to leverage gas in its transition process away from fossil fuel.


Mr Buhari said even though parties to the Paris agreement are expected to transition from fossil fuel to clean energy and reach a net-zero ambition for greenhouse gas emission, Nigeria is actually more of a gas than oil producing country and requires financing of projects using transition fuel such as gas.

Nigeria has developed a detailed energy transition plan and roadmap based on data and evidence, our transition plan also highlights the key role that gas will play in transitioning our economy across sectors and the data and evidence show Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without detracting from the goals of the Paris agreement,” Mr Buhari said.

Many countries do not state their true “emission” figures

According to a recent investigation by Washington Post, many countries of the world are underreporting their greenhouse gas emissions in their reports to the United Nations.

An examination of 196 country reports reveals a giant gap between what nations declare their emissions to be and the greenhouse gases they are sending into the atmosphere. The gap ranges from at least 8.5 billion to as high as 13.3 billion tons a year of underreported emissions — big enough to move the needle on how much the Earth will warm, the report stated.

The plan to save the world from the worst of climate change is built on data. But the data the world is relying on is inaccurate, the report revealed.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/495004-eu-adopts-energy-transition-similar-to-osinbajos-stance-but-climate-activists-kick-2.html

There are a lot to be said but let me not say anything now .

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