Leading Energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group, has urged developed countries to embark on intentional technological investment in sustainable projects in Africa and other developing economies to enhance global efforts towards achieving a low carbon world.
Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, said energy access must be a critical part of the ongoing energy transition conversation, especially in developing economies.
Gray emphasised the need for developed economies to take greater responsibility for moving the world closer to low carbon emissions considering the fact that they have contributed most significantly to historic and current carbon emissions.
She explained that the developing countries are disadvantaged because they are still largely reliant on fossil fuel-driven economies for their growth and development initiatives, with significant levels of untapped reserves, especially across Africa.
“For this, there must be an intentional drive towards technological investments in sustainability projects, in the developing world by the developed world. This is not to absolve developing economies of the responsibility for their energy transition, but to ensure that the global drive is just and equitable,” she stated.
Gray noted that energy companies were coming into a greater consciousness of their role in the energy transition journey and were taking active steps to match their words with action.
According to her, Sahara Group’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had led to the development of the “extrapreneurship” concept, which refers to the group’s unique strategy for creating enabling environments for entrepreneurs.
She said the “extrapreneurship” model is propagated through projects centered on two key impact areas of energy and the environment.
These projects, according to Gray, seek to drive awareness and affirmative action in support of resource efficiency, sustainability, and economic development through socially and environmentally sustainable ventures.
With vast operations across and beyond Africa, she explained that the path towards energy transition impacts every sector of Sahara’s operations, adding that gas had been recognized as a transition fuel in the global energy transition journey.
Gray stated, “Sahara Group continues to invest in infrastructure and technology that will enhance access to gas as an option of clean fuel across Africa. Our Liquefied Petroleum Gas vessels are transforming the LPG market, facilitating seamless supply, while our existing and targeted infrastructure will drive efficient storage and distribution of LPG across markets.”
“Sahara Group is also taking a foremost position in advocacy, development of a gas utilization strategy to be balanced with investments in renewable energy projects and carbon storage projects. These plans underpin our areas of focus of resource efficiency and carbon emissions reduction in the drive for sustainability,” she added.
