The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has said that, to mitigate climate change, there is the need to address methane emission.
Executive Director of the centre, Faith Nwadishi, made this known at a stakeholders and media roundtable on “Nigeria’s National Gas Plans for Non-Power Uses”.
The roundtable was organised by CTA in partnership with Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).
She said that Methane was responsible for about 25 per cent of the human-caused global warming experienced today.
“It is over 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
“Therefore, addressing methane emissions is crucial in mitigating climate change and its impacts.”
Nwadishi said that reducing methane emission had multiple benefits including reducing a potent greenhouse gas, while adding that capturing and utilising methane could generate additional revenue streams.
She said that gas played a critical role in Nigeria’s energy strategy, especially in non-power sectors such as heating, cooking, industrial processes and as petrochemical feedstock.
“Nigeria’s ambitious climate targets aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, and gas is considered a critical transition fuel in this endeavour.
“However, the viability and sustainability of using gas in non-power applications remain areas of significant concern and interest.”
Nwadishi added that it was essential to critically examine the technical and commercial viability, risks and emissions implications particularly methane emissions associated with these plans.
Programme Officer NRGI, Mr Ahmad Abdulsamad, said that there was the need to use gas to unlock the transport sector.
He said that the institute was trying to collectively highlight and mainstream issues ranging from risk of over investing in gas exploration, to see the way forward for Nigeria.
Dr Evans Okoro, Assistant Director, Development and Production at Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), also made a remark at the event.
He said: “Every country is setting up plans for energy transition. Nigeria has a plan for that too. There is a lot of gas in the country.
“We have a reserve of over 209 trillion cubic feet of gas. Some of those gasses are used for power and non-power sources.”
He said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) encouraged the utilisation of domestic gas.
By Naomi Sharang
