Renewable Energy Transition: A Panacea to the Ravaging Effects of Climate Change in Nigeria

Abstract

There have been global concerns about the continuous rise in the surface temperature of the earth. The rise in temperature is due mainly to numerous human activities. Nigeria contributes to this menace due to poor electricity supplies making some of its citizens rely on cutting down woods from forest and others using fossil fuel generators. Another prominent contribution to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions is the unrelenting gas flaring during the refining of much relied crude oil. This paper therefore proposes solar photovoltaic (PV) among other recommendations as ways that Nigeria can contribute to limiting global warming to between 1.5 ℃ and 2 ℃ which the 2021 report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) alarmed will be exceeded during the 21st century if unchecked. Literatures were reviewed and online survey was carried out to evidently investigate the current state of grid electricity supply in Nigeria. The result from the survey showed that 75% of the respondents who are connected to the grid do not have electricity supply beyond 12 h. The implication of this is that many of these respondents resort to fossil fuel power supply while seeing solar PV as expensive. Therefore, Nigeria can reduce greenhouse gas emissions through political will that ensures that policies that will strictly prohibit gas flaring and encourage the PV industry in the country are enforced in order to make clean energy accessible to all.