Professor Ayodele Morocco-Clarke is a multi-award-winning Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who specialises in Energy, Climate and Environmental Law. She has numerous years’ experience in commercial and energy law at some of the top law firms in Nigeria and taught Environmental Law at the Lagos State University. She is currently a Professor of Law at the Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. In this interview with KENNETH ATHEKAME, she spoke on a number of issues, including the global energy sector; the intersection between energy and environmental conservation, and the need for emission taxes or levies on vehicles in the country. Excerpts:
Can you share with us your background and experience working in the energy, climate and environment sector?
I was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2000. I started my legal career in 2000, practising at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, which is arguably the best commercial law firm in Nigeria. In 2004, I obtained a Master’s Degree (LL.M.) in Petroleum Law and Policy from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom and was awarded a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) from the University of Aberdeen in 2012. My Ph.D. research dealt with the oil & gas industry, environmental protection and policy and international law. I interned at ExxonMobil in London and when I eventually returned to Nigeria, I continued legal practice as a partner and the head of the energy and environmental law practice at a reputable firm in Lagos whilst simultaneously lecturing at the Lagos State University.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the global energy sector in the next decade?
I believe the greatest challenge that we are currently facing with regards to energy and will face for the next decade is determining how we can transition away from fossil fuels into greener and clean energy. Presently, there are lots of countries that are reliant on coal and on oil and gas. In Nigeria, we mostly rely on oil and gas, but countries like China, India, South Africa, etc. are still heavily reliant on coal. Due to the climate change issue that we are facing, and due to the fact that almost all countries acknowledge that climate change is a real problem, everyone is trying to see how we can transition, that is, move away from these kinds of old non-renewable sources of fuel, like coal, oil and gas, to newer, cleaner sources of energy. Therefore, people are ardently advocating for cleaner energy sources.
Here in Nigeria, when you’re talking about renewable energy, we often talk about sources like solar, that’s the most popular one. But also in Nigeria, for decades, we’ve been using hydro (water) as a source of energy and this is a clean and renewable energy source. There’s also the wind. Wind energy is renewable and is utilised in different countries e.g. in America, you see all these wind turbines in places like California. In Nigeria, there are a few wind turbines in Katsina which were installed to generate power (electricity). When it comes to transportation, most vehicles are powered by petrol and diesel. Increasingly in Nigeria, people are switching to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to fuel their vehicles. Whilst gas, as a fuel, is cleaner than diesel and petrol, it is still a fossil fuel and we need to transition away from it to combat and possibly reverse climate change. In many developed countries, they started transitioning away from petrol and diesel vehicles by initially moving to hybrid vehicles. Nowadays, there are millions of vehicles manufactured which are fully electric.
Many people are sceptical about the ability of renewable energy sources to meet our energy needs because they think they’re not as robust or reliable as our current fossil fuel sources. Increasingly however, there are more and more companies and some industries in Nigeria which are scaling up their solar power generation, supply and use, and this is the direction we need to go henceforth. The same applies all over the world where countries are increasingly turning to wind, hydro, solar, biomass and even geothermal as renewable energy sources.
Geothermal as an energy source is very efficient, however it is also extremely expensive and will not be financially or commercially viable in places like Nigeria. For us in Nigeria, wind, hydro and solar should be the top options. Wind is widely viewed as one of the most efficient forms of renewable energy and being in the tropics, we have a lot of sunlight which makes solar energy a very viable energy source. Hydro energy is one source we have used for decades in this country, and it has served us very well. Everyone knows about some dams e.g. the Kainji and Shiroro Dams which generate electricity used around the country. The downside is that generating hydroelectricity is also very expensive. When the Kainji Dam was completed in 1968, it had cost the country over Two Hundred Million Dollars back then and the reality is that today, the cost of switching to hydro-electricity is prohibitive and will require a lot of financing and investment.
Thus, as I stated before, the biggest challenge the energy industry will face in the coming decade will be how to successfully and effectively transition to renewable and clean energy without throwing millions of people into energy poverty or leaving people and communities behind energy deprived. We have to ensure that everyone, especially people in the hinterlands, in villages and different distant local communities, are not left impoverished in their energy needs. Right now, we have a lot of places where the national grid does not even reach. They don’t have access to power and it is imperative that the tenets and principles of energy justice are embedded in the ongoing and upcoming energy transition process so that it is a just energy transition.
Can you explain the intersection between energy transition and environmental conservation? How do they complement each other?
Energy transition has become an urgent and burning issue due to the effect of centuries of reliance on fossil fuel which was used to drive industrialization and development. The rise in emissions and greenhouse gases has led to climate change (also referred to as global warming) which is being experienced all over the world today. The earth cannot last with the rate of abuse it has been suffering and continues to suffer at the hands of humans. Therefore, the correlation between energy transition and environmental conservation is survival and continuity. If mankind is to continue to exist on earth, we have to act and show responsibility with regards to this planet which hosts us. Mankind has to ensure that we use the earth’s resources responsibly and work to conserve the environment if we intend to continue to survive and thrive on this planet. The development and advancement of many countries came on the back of the use of fossil fuels like coal and oil and this has resulted in extreme devastation to the environment and the rise in global temperature. The current advocacy and drive for energy transition comes with the aim of halting and possibly reversing climate change and therein lies the intersection between energy transition and environmental conservation,
What’s your experience with renewable energy? How do you evaluate their scalability and potential in various regions?
I am in Nigeria. The renewable energy source I have experienced for over five decades is hydro. Like I stated previously, we have used hydroelectricity in Nigeria since the late 1960s. Another renewable energy source which I have used and seen is solar. Solar power is on the rise in Nigeria and solar panels are visible all over the country. Many homes and businesses in the country generate power using solar energy.
In your opinion what is the most effective strategy for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions?
The plain answer if you are going to say one strategy, would be to simply cease all use of fossil fuels immediately. But that cannot be a strategy because it cannot be done immediately or overnight. Therefore, ceasing the use of fossil fuels will be a goal of sorts with the overarching goal or result being the halting and possible reversal of climate change.
The pertinent question consequently becomes, how do we achieve the elimination of fossil fuels from our existence as humans? The answer lies in partnership, assistance, knowledge and technology sharing and generally helping one another. Achieving the goal of doing away with fossil fuels will be achieved faster when developed countries who are richer and are more technologically advanced take up the gauntlet by spearheading the energy transition with providing assistance with funds and technological innovations which developing countries do not have in this race to reverse climate change. The rich industrialised countries built their prosperity at the expense of the environment and many of the least developed countries are bearing the brunt of their industrial recklessness. It therefore, behooves the developed countries to ensure that poorer countries are not further impoverished in the race to transition to cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy. The recently concluded COP29 which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan mainly focused on financing the energy transition process and it is good to know that more funds are being committed to the cause, although it is not nearly enough.
Every country and individual needs to play its part. In Nigeria, whilst trying to transition away from oil and gas, the government needs to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to enable Nigeria meets its Nationally Determined Contributions as set out under the Paris Agreement. Incentives must be provided for industries cutting down drastically on emissions and for carbon capture and a carbon tax needs to be administered. Furthermore, emission taxes and levies need to be introduced on vehicles in a bid to reduce emissions and encourage people to choose modes of transports that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Finally, in Nigeria, we need to ensure that the funds earmarked for energy transition are used for the purpose designated and do not end up in private or the wrong pockets
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
