Climate-Resilient Development: managing energy transition in a low income context

By Edel-Quinn Agbaegbu

There is a global consensus that Science, Technology and Innovation can facilitate inclusive growth, sustainable development and militate against Climate change. Climate change which refers to a change in average weather conditions is caused by factors such as biotic processes and variations in solar radiation received by Earth. It has negative consequences with drastic impact on human life and the biodiversity. Today, certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of the ongoing climate change, also referred to as global warming.

Global warming is very significant in placing unprecedented pressure on human and the ecosystem, thereby generating the desire to build resilience into innovation and technology. Efforts have been made to integrate climate considerations directly into developmental activities through climate-resilient development; a framework to address climate change. Climate resilience is an innovative technology with the capacity for a socio-ecological system to maintain its function in the face of external stress imposed on it by climate change. It has improved sustainability and increased tolerance, and enhanced adaptability for lives to become resilient to changes.

Innovative technologies are offering low income countries the opportunity to avoid the high carbon development pathways and develop cleaner and cheaper systems, but these countries need to develop and manage the capacities required to implement the systems at scale. Therefore, there is urgent need to carry out a research study on ‘’Climate-Resilient Development: managing energy transition in a low income context’’. Thus, there is urgent need to explore the current challenges in implementing innovations and biotechnologies in low income countries like Africa; and develop pathway to manage its land and renewable energy transition to low-carbon system.

The vision therefore should be to generate an ‘Energy Transition Model/Template using results obtained from research studies and surveys to create a clean energy future for 2030 and keep the lights from going out when there is no wind or sunshine. It will tend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming in check at the lowest possible costs while building the brightest future of all.

Edel-Quinn Agbaegbu is the Executive Director of Every Woman Centre (EWHC) and the Secretary, National Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium (NBBC)