Nigerian VP (now 2023 presidential candidate) Yemi Osinbajo was the invited speaker on an Atlantic Council panel discussion on “Inclusive Climate Finance: An African Vision for a Just Transition,” on April 13. Given the floor for 15 minutes, Osinbajo began by making three basic points: That energy poverty is “a stark and inexcusable example” of global inequality; that, for Africa, “a Just Transition means a lot more energy, not less"; and that any notion of Climate Justice must include “ending global energy poverty.”
Osinbajo on this point took an added jab at Mark Carney’s Climate Finance mafia, stating that “We are already seeing the investment rules limit technology choices of African countries, the opposite of Climate Justice. Every country must find its own path” to the green nirvana, he said, here citing the EU’s (reluctant) decision to recognize nuclear power as a green energy source, as an example of “diversity” needed in the Just Transition.
On top of Nigeria’s own domestic investments, Osinbajo estimated that it would need a total of over $400 billion in foreign direct investment, referring to South Africa’s $8.5 billion deal as a bare minimum—per country, per year—as an approximate starting point. Beyond that, Osinbajo—himself a lawyer from the private sector (and not military)—strongly defended Nigeria and Africa’s right to use their own energy resources, especially natural gas, as a “transition fuel” to lift populations above charcoal and wood energy for cooking.
Then, in a turn of the jingoistic Climate Justice phrase, the vice president emphasized that lack of global commitment to helping all nations lift themselves beyond coal and charcoal would truly be unjust.