Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Nigeria has one of the highest rates of energy poverty in the world and suffers from chronic power cuts. In its recent Covid-19 economic recovery plan, the government pledged to fix its worsening energy crisis through the rapid expansion of solar power. In a shock move, it also scrapped fossil fuel subsidies. However, some national pundits are still advocating for Nigeria to close its electricity gap through the use of more fossil fuels, including the country’s largely untapped coal reserves. Climate change is having a large impact on Nigeria. Sharp increases in extreme heat are affecting the many millions of people without access to air conditioning or electricity and changes to precipitation threaten Nigeria’s largely rain-fed agricultural sector. Some suggest that climate change could fuel the risk of conflict in the north of the country.