The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, on Tuesday inaugurated a Joint Decarbonisation Working Group to coordinate efforts to cut emissions, gas flaring and methane leaks in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Ekpo said the group was set up by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the National Council on Climate Change, NCCC. Its mandate, he explained, is to align government agencies, regulators, industry operators and development partners around cleaner and more sustainable petroleum operations.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to reducing methane emissions from fossil fuel operations. He noted that Nigeria recently endorsed the UK-led Global Statement on Reducing Methane Emissions from Fossil Fuel Operations.
“Today, decarbonisation is no longer just an environmental obligation. It is an economic imperative, an investment imperative and a competitiveness imperative,” Ekpo said.
“If we are to remain a preferred destination for responsible energy investment, we must build institutions, policies and regulatory systems that inspire confidence, while protecting our sovereign right to harness our natural resources for national development.”
He added: “Climate ambition must go hand in hand with development ambition. No country should be forced to choose between lifting its people out of poverty and protecting the environment. Nigeria will pursue both.”
According to Ekpo, the team will serve as a collaboration platform for methane reduction initiatives, emissions monitoring and reporting system, enforcement of existing regulations, deployment of cleaner technologies and
Access to climate finance and carbon markets.
He urged members to deliver on their assignment with “professionalism, integrity, innovation and urgency” to help shape the future of the petroleum industry.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the NCCC, Mrs. Omotenioye Majekodunmi, said the Working Group was designed to safeguard Nigeria’s economic future while advancing its climate goals.
She noted that the Council remains committed to turning national climate policies into investments, jobs, industrial growth and measurable benefits for Nigerians under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Working Group will be co-led by Engr. Abel Nsa representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and Mr. Michael Ivenso representing the National Council on Climate Change.
