In a major push to attract funding and technical support for the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be delivering a keynote address at a high-level meeting hosted by The Rockefeller Foundation in New York.
Nairametrics understands that the Vice President’s speech will push for the activation of the Voluntary Carbon Market in Nigeria and other African countries.
Different global agencies and potential financial partners will be in attendance at the meeting. Some of the participants include the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), UN-Sustainable Energy for All, (SEforALL), the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the U.N Climate Change High-Level Champions.
The high-level meeting, scheduled for Friday, December 9, will also be attended by officials of the US government.
It will explore potential opportunities which carbon markets offer to generate resources for clean energy transitions while accelerating economic growth in Nigeria and other African countries.
Osinbajo’s mission: Ahead of the meeting on Friday, Prof. Osinbajo will interact with some of the agencies with whom the Federal Government has been engaging on the Energy Transition Plan and the activation of the Voluntary Carbon Market, including GEAPP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
In a statement commenting on the high-level meeting in New York, The Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged “Nigeria’s leadership on the African continent and the global stage,” and praised the Vice President’s “bold voice advocating for carbon market as a solution to simultaneously accelerate economic development and address the effects of Climate Change in Africa.”
Vice President Osinbajo will depart Hanoi, Vietnam, today on his way to New York for the meeting.
Africa’s carbon market: An International Steering Committee is driving the activation of African Carbon Markets in Africa, under the auspices of the African Carbon Market Initiative.
- Members of the Committee include the Nigerian Vice President, former President of Colombia, Ivan Duque Marquez, officials of the United Nations, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and Gates Foundation, among others.
- According to the ACMI launched last month at COP27 in Egypt, there are clear indications “that Nigeria could mobilize $600 – 800 million per annum in the capital by 2030 (assuming the current average price of $20 per ton of carbon) from Voluntary Carbon Markets and potentially support 3-5 million jobs over the energy transition period.”
- Vice President Osinbajo is the Chair of FG’s Energy Transition Plan Working Group, a multi-ministerial team established by President Buhari to implement the ETP.