The Director General of National Council on Climate Change, Omotenioye Majekodunmi, has harped on the need by Nigeria to design frameworks that treat energy transition as the engine of industrial transformation.
Majekodunmi made the submission in her keynote address at the 2026 Green Conference, with the theme, “Decarbonising Africa: Pathway to Climate Finance, Sustainable Growth and Green Economy.”
The NCCC DG, at the three-day conference held in Lagos, charged Nigeria and other African countries to use their resources for their prosperity.
“Ultimately, this transition as we know is more than energy.It is about jobs, it is about industries, it is about prosperity.
Let us use the resources beneath our feet to power the prosperity above our heads – building an Africa that is industrialised, resilient, and climate responsible in a manner.”
According to her, Africa can achieve industrial growth, energy security and economic prosperity while advancing the global climate agenda.
She said: “Africa will not choose between development and decarbonization. Our task is to achieve both – and to show the world that responsible development and climate leadership can advance together.”
For many African economies, the answer lies in a pragmatic and balanced energy transition.In this transition, natural gas plays a critical enabling role.
“Gas provides the reliable base load energy required to power industrial activity – from steel and cement to chemicals and fertiliser production – while also serving as a stabilising partner for the rapid expansion of renewable energy systems.”
Majekodunmi,however, explained that the role of gas in Africa’s future must not replicate the high- emissions systems of the past, stating that it must be decarbonised gas.
“This means ending routine flaring, deploying advanced methane detection technologies, integrating Carbon Capture, Utilization and
Storage, and designing future-ready infrastructure capable of supporting hydrogen and other emerging fuels,” she added.
Speaking with journalists at the conference,Eugene Itua, Chief Executive Officer of Natural ECO Capital and Executive Director of the Africa Green Economy and Sustainability Institute (AGESI), said despite being in an era of challenges due to climate change, the opportunities that come with it can be harnessed for common good.
He said: “This is an era of challenges.
All of us have acknowledged that due to climate change. But, however, on the other side of the pendulum is the opportunity tied to it. And one of such ways of ensuring that the opportunity is harvested is through the carbon market.
“And so what we’re doing here today is to see how through the project by Greenplinth, we are able to get that done. And of course, mobilising the immediate finances to accelerate climate actions that we need today. We’re both dealing with the challenges.
“So my call to action is that all of us work together to deepen the understanding, because interestingly, all of us want to play one role or the other in the carbon markets, but not everyone understands the dynamics. So there’s a need to deepen the knowledge, there’s a need to deepen the understanding. So all of us need to work together so that we know the role we can play in the entire ecosystem.”
Expressing confidence in GreenPlinth Africa’s clean cookstoves campaign, the Director General, Niger State Agency for Green Initiatives, Mr. Daniel Galadima, who also signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with GreenPlinth to deliver 2 million clean cookstoves to indigent residents in Niger state, described it as a potent step to easing access to clean.
Also, on hand to sign the MOA were Hon. Abubakar Musa, Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change in Niger State, Alhaji Usman Besse, Director, Northern Operations, GreenPlinth Africa., and Dr. Olawale Akinwumi. President/Chief Executive Officer, GreenPlinth Africa Limited.
