Asharami Square debuts as Sahara Energy Pledges Cleaner Future by 2060

To power decarbonization in Africa

Sahara Group, a leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, has unveiled a groundbreaking plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its oil and gas operations by 2060.

This ambitious target signifies their commitment to a sustainable future for Africa’s energy sector.

The announcement came at a forum titled “Carbon Footprint and The African Narrative” at the debut of Asharami Square in Lagos, a Sahara Group Initiative aimed at promoting sustainability through effective media advocacy.

Speaking on this, Wole Ajeigbe, Group Project Manager at Asharami Energy, a Sahara Group company, addressed the critical issue of decarbonization in Africa’s upstream oil and gas operations.

Ajeigbe emphasized Sahara Group’s commitment to building a sustainable energy future through a practical and achievable plan.

He listed several key strategies that will drive Sahara Group’s journey to net-zero emissions.

– Eliminating gas flaring:

The company plans to completely eliminate gas flaring across its upstream operations, a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

– Reduced water usage:

Freshwater consumption during operations will be minimized, promoting a more sustainable approach.

– Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS):

Sahara Group is embracing cutting-edge technology by actively using CCUS – a method of capturing carbon emissions for storage or productive use. They are the first African company to join the global CCUS group.

While acknowledging the projected rise in Africa’s energy demand, Ajeigbe stressed the urgency for the oil and gas sector to decarbonize to meet these needs responsibly. He called for a supportive governmental environment that encourages investment in gas projects through tax breaks, funding facilitation, and risk mitigation strategies.

This disclosures came at the heels of the Keynote Presentation by Dr. Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, Regional Director, West Africa – Ford Foundation who, in her paper titled “Carbon Footprint and the Africa Narrative” stated emphatically that Africa should not be seen as the victim of climatic change but as the solution to climatic change.

According to the development advocate, “Africa’s story should be understood and narrated properly,” she said. “Climate change is real and is an existential threat. Africa’s narrative should not be focused on challenges but on opportunities. We must highlight Africa’s contributions to climate feasibility to the World,” she noted.

Aniagolu-Okoye pointed out that two major narratives are ongoing in Africa.

The first is that Africa should not be dictated for on the route to follow. The argument is that Africa has huge natural resources and can always use the natural resources to develop at her own pace. However, she said the fact remains that if the developed West insists that such natural resources are not good enough for carbon emissions reduction, then Africa may be in a dilemma on how to exploit and produce those natural resources because Africa does not have the technology to develop them.

Secondly, as carbon reduction is a must for the world, Africa cannot shy away from this reality and therefore should follow the rest of the world to be part of the campaign even though African carbon emission is just about 4 percent compared to those of developed countries.

In her paper, she mentioned the issue of energy justice. Adding that in the case of the international oil companies divesting from fossil energy businesses should not be the discussion but the spate of environmental devastation they are leaving in their host communities.

She also spoke on Green Mineral extraction and its effect on the environment. “Nowhere in the world that the issue of environmental devastation is felt more compared to that in Africa,” she said. Additionally, the economy of Africa is reduced by 15 percent by climatic change. Dr Aniagolu-Okoye advocated for the

Africa has relatively low emissions compared to other regions, with four countries emitting more CO₂ than the entire continent combined, noted Mrs Ejiro Gray, the Director, Governance and Sustainability of Shara Group.

Mrs Gray noted that the energy sector in Africa is the dominant source of carbon dioxide emissions, contributing more than half of the continent’s total. This is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal for electricity generation and other industrial activities.

She also noted that the Transport sector is also predicated on the Energy Sector as Transportation in Africa heavily relies on vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel, which are emitters of CO₂. This dependence on fossil fuels further intensifies Africa’s overall CO₂ footprint.

Other sectors like Residential energy usage, Commercial & Public Services, Agriculture, Fishing and Consumption, also produce CO₂ emissions.

The sustainability expert listed 5 key approaches for mitigating carbon emissions and meeting Africa’s development and they include: Natural gas development; Increase in use of renewables; Protection and rehabilitation of African natural carbon sinks; Innovation in low cost/low emissions clean energy solutions; Carbon culture storage / carbon capture and Re-utilisation and utilisation of domestic knowledge.

Gray disclosed that Sahara has continued to make improvements to their operations in order to reduce their carbon footprint and by extension, the continent footprint. These improvements, she said, revolve around; increased use of renewables; gas commercialisation; research and development in sustainable energy; carbon sinks and carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) initiatives.

The inaugural edition of Asharami square ended with a pledge by Bethel Obioma, Head, corporate communications of Sahara Group, stated that the initiative would not just be a one off but would become a periodical mainstay geared towards ensuring that media advocacy is assured with strategic support from the group.

He added that Asharami Square would be having training and mentorship programs for journalists as well as the Asharami Awards to appreciate those works that have contributed to building sustainability in Africa.

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