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developing nations do not fol- It was a dilemma for these (Texas), Chief Timipre Sylva,
low the same pace. Some na- countries because not only ha- Nigerian Minister of State for
tions are not progressing fast ve they contributed very little Petroleum Resources stated “
enough to meet the Paris CO2 emissions, but they must We are still in transition from
Agreement. Many countries utilize their vast oil and gas firewood to gas.
still use coal-fired power to resources to achieve economic Please allow us to continue
meet their energy needs. The growth. Their reluctance to with our own transition”.
energy transition is especially adopt a swift energy transition Equatorial Guinea Minister of
difficult for countries such as makes sense because they Mines and Hydro-carbons
Nigeria, Mozambique, and Ve- cannot afford to give up fossil Gabriel Obiang Lima echoed
nezuela that export fossil fu- fuel production, which greatly those concerns, saying pres-
els, as well as countries that contributes to their economic sure over renewables is “very
consume a disproportionate development. Nigerian Presi- unjust.”
amount of coal, such as South dent Muhammadu Buhari It is controversial to pursue a
Africa and Mongolia. Euro- committed to reaching net- Just Transition for All and
pean and American experien- zero emissions by 2060. He requires the cooperation of a
ces have shown that shifting said that “Nigeria needs ade- broad range of stakeholders,
away from coal can take deca- quate and sustained technical such as government, private
des, and it is challenging from and financial support to meet sector, communities, acade-
an economic perspective, but its goal”. As Africa’s largest oil mics, and civil society.
also socially and culturally. producer, Nigeria generates Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea,
At the COP26 climate talks in 60% of its government reve- Angola, Gabon, Libya, Vene-
Glasgow (UK) in November nue and 90% of its foreign ex- zuela, Algeria, and others with
2021, developing economies change earnings from fossil hydrocarbons-dependent eco-
across Africa, Asia, and Latin fuels. The Nigerian govern- nomies clearly require a more
America were under pressure ment envisions an even grea- gradual and flexible approach
to reduce carbon emissions ter role for oil and gas in the to transition to renewable
just as they were industriali- economy. During the energy sources.
zing it. CERAWeek in Houston

COP 21: Heads of delegations. © CC BY-SA 4

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