Exploring Renewable Energy Certificates for Nigeria’s Decarbonisation Strategy in the Power Sector

Since its inception in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has directly influenced the development of domestic and international climate change policies worldwide, particularly regarding energy transition. The Kyoto Protocol, as well as the latter Paris Agreement, bear witness to this.
 
In 2021, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria exhibited a commitment to the achievement of net zero carbon emissions by 2060, by signing the Climate Change Act, which provides the legal framework for achieving low greenhouse gas emissions, into law. In furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to battling climate change and reducing global GHG emissions, Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) was launched in 2022.
 
The ETP clearly charted energy transition pathways and decarbonization strategies across the economy’s power, oil and gas, industry, transport, and cooking sectors. Relevant to this discourse is the decarbonization strategies earmarked for the power sector: expansion of generation capacity via renewable sources and the potential of the Renewable Energy Certificate system as an incentive to attract foreign and local capital to the renewable energy sector to ensure its success.
 
This newsletter seeks to provide a holistic understanding of the REC system and its potential benefits for the efficient expansion of generation capacity via renewable sources.