Clarion Call for Sustainable Energy

Energy is fundamental to all human activities and it is needed to support development. The millennium development goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved without access to energy. Energy is inevitable for poverty alleviation and provides services in the areas of health, communications and productivity. To further increase Nigerians access to energy, the Community Research and Development Centre launched the Project title Promoting Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Nigeria (PREEEN) 2006. The objectives of the PREEEN Project are to increase public awareness on renewable energy and its potential for sustainable development in Nigeria; and enhance stakeholders’ participation in the development of these policies to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The first regional conference on the PREEEN project held on the 18 July, 2006. The conference was titled “Renewable Energy: The Key to Sustainable Energy Development in Nigeria”. The event was attended by participants from government, academics, NGOs, student bodies, private sector and representatives of the Nigerian Union of Teachers and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The event aimed at creating awareness on renewable energy technologies (RETs) and their potential for sustainable development and to build capacity in the civil society to enhance their participation in a forthcoming national dialogue to integrate renewable energy and energy efficiency into the policy framework of Nigeria. It facilitated the creation of a network of renewable energy advocates (REAs) that will front the development of RETs in Nigeria