Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Blueprint Newspapers Salisu Umar has called for partnership with the Nigeria Sustainable Cooling Project (NSCP) in its advocacy for energy-efficiency programme.
He made the call Wednesday while receiving in audience the NSCP team at its Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
The initiative, the team said, was part of the broader “Scaling Up Energy-Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) Revision” project, funded by the Clean Cooling Collaborative (CCC) and supported by international technical assistance from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United for Efficiency (U4E).
The major focus of the project which started 2011, according to them, was to accelerate the transition to energy-efficient air conditioners with low global warming potential refrigerants in residential, commercial and public buildings, thus mitigating the dangers from climate change.
Besides, the team said the energy-efficiency project seeks to ensure energy covers the larger mass of the people.
The three-man team, led by the project director, Dr. Shehu Mustafa, comprised the project coordinator, Mr. Etiosa Uyigye, and its communications consultant, Nkechi Isaac.
Speaking on the project and the benefits it holds for Nigerians, particularly the end users, the project coordinator, Mr. Uyigye, noted that with simple change in behaviour, the objectives could be realised.
He said there was an urgent need for a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from inefficient air conditioners in line with the nation’s targeted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the same or better services without compromising quality. With very simple change in behaviour, we can achieve this. What the project is trying to do is to get some savings from the cooling system. We are all aware that we don’t have enough current and that is why we are into load-shedding and rationing among various locations.
“If the little we are generating are shared and used efficiently, more people will benefit. The bulk of the energy we are getting from the national grid is from thermal station, which means the burning of gas,” he said.
While describing energy management as crucial for sustainable development and climate change mitigation in Nigeria, Uyigye said “the first approach to achieving this is through the introduction of minimum energy performance standard.
“We will be regulating the consumption of A/C markets. Also, we will use certain metrics to calculate energy efficiency in collaboration with the SON (Standard Organisiation of Nigeria). This will be approved before the end of the year , and enforcement will begin in 2026 because we have to give manufacturers enough time. We are just awaiting approval from the FG for SON to begin enforcement.
“Second is the awareness on which of the cooling appliances to use to achieve energy efficiency. It is beyond just looking at the beautiful design and names of these products. We will ensure energy labelling that will tell you what you stand to gain from a particular product.”
Also speaking, the project director, Dr. Mustafa, highlighted the various grades of cooling system, saying the compressor in the modern ones usually regulates itself in line with the room temperature, while the same can’t be said of the older ones.
In his remarks, MD/CEO Blueprint Newspapers, Malam Umar, said as beautiful as the initiative was, the implementation might be a challenge.
He therefore, called for a partnership with the newspaper to further enlighten the public on what they stand to gain therefrom.
“Whatever you say here or anywhere will just be reported briefly. However, when you engage the media, using some dedicated pages, you can be sure the message will sink and get digested. So, Blueprint is better placed to serve this purpose. We are ready and prepared to send your message for a wider reach we enjoy among our teeming readers.”