The United Kingdom High Commission has unveiled plans to unlock partnerships with Nigeria’s business environment to take advantage of emerging opportunities for a green industrial revolution.
In his address at the Carbon Chamber Conference of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Head of Climate Change and Energy West Africa, UK High Commission, Sean Melbourne, said the gradual shift to a low carbon economy would transform many sectors.
“We are keen to work with the Nigerian Government, and to strengthen our partnerships with business and civil society here, to develop the right enabling environment for low-carbon project proposals at scale to succeed, and to enable more Nigerians to tap into green finance,” Melbourne said.
He noted that there’s a crucial opportunity to act now to achieve low carbon resilient growth and avoid carbon lock-in in Africa’s biggest economy.
“The most obvious opportunity is perhaps in the renewables sphere but there are many others too. Access to energy is key to promoting inclusive economic development, poverty alleviation, social equity, and advances in health and education,” Melbourne said.
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He explained the importance of Off-grid renewables which offer the most cost-effective solution to bring energy to people who are not yet connected to the grid.
“As such these technologies can contribute significantly to building climate resilience in poor rural and urban areas,” Melbourne said.
On his part, the Executive Director, National Chamber Policy Centre, ACCI, Olawale Rasheed, observed that the role of business in the fight against climate change was universally acknowledged.
He said, “Today, almost all global companies have adopted climate change commitment. The global chamber movement under the International Chamber of Commerce had subsequently made the declaration binding on all its members.”
He explained that the Chamber Carbon Project of the ACCI and its partners would include advocacy, by engaging members of the chambers on the urgency of carbon emission reduction.
“We will be involved in carbon auditing, which is to help companies and businesses assess their carbon footprint through carbon auditing,” Rasheed stated.
He added, “Training and this is to build capacity of businesses on carbon reduction practices and strategies. Also, it involves marketing green energy to match-make green energy providers with business operators.”
The ACCI director noted that to achieve the above targets, an implementation plan had been developed, which would be shared with partners for their contributions and further partnership.
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