The Lagos State Government has pledged to use renewable energy to power essential public facilities across the state, in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The government has revealed plans to use renewable energy in essential public facilities, including education, health, and transportation. The Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration intends to generate 1GW of renewable energy before 2030, according to the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Olalere Odusote.
Speaking at a two-day workshop on the Lagos urban power design sprint held in Ikeja, the commissioner revealed that the administration’s initiative is part of its objectives to transition to an economy based on renewable energy, which supports the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Odusote stated that the Lagos State government remains committed to the transition to green energy and ensuring universal access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy in the state. He further highlighted that this is evident in the various policies and strategies aimed at creating an enabling environment for the proliferation of renewable energy technologies in the state.
R-Cities Network’s Regional Director for Africa, Dana Omran endorsed the initiative, saying that education and health are critical sectors that would significantly benefit from the initiative. Last year, R-Cities Network invited Lagos to join them and three other cities in the green and equitable recovery program, which seeks to assist members of its worldwide network in speeding the equitable energy transition through efforts to develop resilience. Other cities currently members of the program include Cali, Columbia, Cape Town, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The workshop was the culmination of years of partnership between the Lagos State government and the Resilient Cities Network through the resilience office, according to Lagos Chief Resilience Officer, Dr. Folayinka Dania. Over the two days, attendees explored opportunities that would unlock innovation in renewable energy technology development and focus on private sector involvement to support Lagos’ manufacturing and technical capacity to support renewable energy.
