COP26: Buhari Expected To Protest ‘Destabilizing’ Climate Change Proposals At World Summit

As world leaders converge on Glasgow, Scotland, UK to decide on ways to combat climate change, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to protest against outcomes that may not favour the country and Africa at large.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is taking place from October 31 to November 12, 2021.

This year’s conference is significant and different from previous meetings as parties are expected to reach decisive conclusions on how to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

President Buhari departed the country on Saturday evening and is expected to deliver a speech on Tuesday at a high-level segment for heads of state and government.

Two things, amongst others, are likely on Buhari’s mind as he appears before the world leaders at tomorrow’s meeting.

One will border on Nigeria and Africa’s key priorities vis-à-vis demands to be made by Europe and the Americas.

He is also expected to tell the world leaders about the country’s action plan to tackle climate change.

Buhari gave these indications in an opinion piece he wrote ahead of his participation at COP2 titled “The Climate Crisis Will Not be Fixed by Causing an Energy Crisis in Africa”. It was published in American weekly news magazine, Newsweek, on Saturday.

While noting that mankind has a duty to protect the earth, the Nigerian leader cautioned that acting impulsively or switching hurriedly to green energy may create as much or worse problems as climate change itself.

In the article, Buhari argued that the energy solutions being proposed by “eager” world leaders and organisations “are fuel for the instability of which they warn”, with Africa at the receiving end.

He argued that low-cost and reliable energy is one of Africa’s highest concerns as the continent’s leaders cannot “build the factories that will transform Africa from a low-job, extractives-led economy to a high employment middle-income continent” without stable power.

Buhari claims that green energy is “often the most unreliable” and as such cannot help African countries to attain their economic goals.

“Wind and solar, the most fashionable of modern energy technologies, are flawed by their reliance on back-up diesel generators or batteries for when there is no wind for the turbines or sun for the panels.

“It also seems unnoticed that in our global rush for electric cars we risk replacing the last century’s scramble for fossil fuels with a new global race in lithium for batteries. Where significant deposits are to be found, such as in Africa, this could endanger geopolitical stability. This makes the economic migrations the U.N. warned of more likely. We must think carefully whether our dash to terminate the use of fossil fuels so swiftly is as wise as it sounds.

“There is no single “green bullet” that can be deployed either in Africa or the world that solves concerns of environmentalists while simultaneously offering the power to fuel hope of greater wealth and progress for the extra 1 billion citizens of our African future.”

The Nigerian leader further made some recommendations, including gradual transitioning to “cleaner, but consistent, energy production” rather than complete switch to green energy.

The article further reads, “Fossil fuel power generation that can provide electricity 24 hours a day in all conditions can be re-tooled greener through carbon capture and the conversion of coal and heavy fuel oil power stations to biomass.

“We can bring forward new technologies such as mini-hydro power plants which can operate and produce power day and night along shallow waterways without damaging the aquatic life on which local communities are sustained.

“We can also invest in nuclear. Though not renewable it is carbon neutral and capable of producing baseload, constant electricity production on which sustained economic progress can be built. Nigeria is among a handful of African countries exploring nuclear power, with a research reactor already operational.

“And we can also learn from our friends in Europe and America who do not always practice what they preach. We call on them to lift the moratorium they have placed on fossil fuel investments in Africa. Nigeria has pledged to eliminate illegal gas flaring by 2030—a by-product of our oil industry—and harness it for electricity production. Our intention to end Nigeria’s single greatest contribution to greenhouse emissions may stall without it. Yet there are no such limitations on investment in natural gas power in the West where it is considered a transitional energy source.

“There is a deal to be done at COP26, but none without the agreement of the nations of Africa. The climate warnings we hear them. We live them. But no one has the right to deny the advancement of our continent. Yet unless the developed world wakes up, we run the risk of trying to fix the climate crisis with an energy crisis.”