TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Leadership – Future Pathways
Energy Access for All
Forum 25 | Technical Programme Hall 5
27
April
13:30
15:00
UTC+3
Through the continued expectation of increased energy demand on a worldwide scale in the next few decades, the challenge of providing reliable, sustainable, affordable energy for everyone is growing. On the one side the world is transitioning to a lower carbon energy future, on the other side, the cost of new energy sources and new energy supply channels face the challenge of affordability. Balancing these in the future will require additional effort to ensure access to energy for all by 2030. With the added consideration of geopolitical developments we will have to reconsider energy strategies worldwide to achieve this.
This study examines the potential contributions of renewable energy to achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria within the framework of sustainable energy transition. Specifically, we adopt the Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to carry out a GIS-based rural electrification assessment to examine the options for achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria to support sustainable energy transitions. We focus on Sokoto State, Nigeria. Based on OnSSET modelling, the total number of unelectrified settlements in the study area is estimated at 1,453 with a corresponding population of 1.28miilion. Our results show that mini-grid PV will be the least-cost electrification option for electrifying most of the unelectrified settlements. Based on our assumption of basic electricity demand, the cost of electrifying the settlements is estimated at US$231.4million, and the additional capacity that will be required will be 125MW. Given the large number of unelectrified settlements and the financial requirement for achieving universal electricity access, we proceed to prioritize the settlements using the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) and identify settlements that will have the highest utility if electrified based on five criteria: financial, economic, social, demographic and political. We conclude by noting that the technical, institutional, and governance constraints to achieving universal electrification in Nigeria are being addressed, however, the financial constraints persist. We recommend that financial support by multilateral development organizations should also include support for setting assembling or manufacturing facilities for renewable energy equipment in Nigeria as this will substantially reduce the cost of mini-grid projects as well as the associated risks of such projects in terms of cost recovery due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Clean cooking remains the most underfunded component of Africa’s energy transition, despite its profound implications for climate, health, and gender equity. Over 900 million people on the continent still rely on biomass and other polluting fuels for cooking, contributing to more than 700,000 premature deaths annually and significant forest degradation. While clean cooking solutions—such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), improved biomass cookstoves, and electric cooking—are technically viable and aligned with SDG 7 and net-zero goals, affordability remains the principal barrier to widespread adoption.
A recent breakthrough in climate cooperation offers a new pathway. In 2023, Ghana and Switzerland authorized the first clean cooking mitigation activity under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Facilitated by the KliK Foundation, this initiative supports the distribution of next generation cookstoves to households in Ghana and issues Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) based on verified emissions reductions. This example demonstrates how carbon markets can be harnessed to support both national climate goals and local development priorities, particularly energy access.
This paper explores the potential of carbon markets as a scalable financing mechanism to accelerate clean cooking adoption across Africa. We provide a comparative analysis of clean cooking carbon projects in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, evaluating their emissions reduction methodologies, credit issuance trends, and revenue generation. Drawing on recent field data and carbon registry records, we demonstrate that well-structured clean cooking projects can generate between 1–3 tCO₂e per household annually, translating into meaningful revenue at current voluntary market prices.
However, the paper also highlights key challenges—including market fragmentation, high transaction costs, evolving standards, and limited national readiness to implement Article 6 mechanisms. To overcome these barriers, we propose a pan-African carbon finance facility for clean cooking, supported by harmonized MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) protocols, pooled crediting platforms, and regional project aggregation. This model would reduce risk, enhance credit quality, and attract investment at scale.
By anchoring clean cooking within national energy strategies and NDCs (nationally determined contributions), and by positioning it as a climate solution eligible for results-based finance, governments and partners can catalyze the sector. Our findings make the case for integrating carbon-financed clean cooking into Africa’s broader energy planning to achieve access, affordability, and climate mitigation simultaneously.
This paper contributes to the discussion on energy affordability and transition equity by presenting clean cooking not just as a development imperative but also as a climate-aligned investment opportunity. As geopolitical tensions and supply chain pressures reshape energy markets, clean cooking carbon finance offers a decentralized, resilient, and people-centered approach to delivering energy for all by 2030.
A recent breakthrough in climate cooperation offers a new pathway. In 2023, Ghana and Switzerland authorized the first clean cooking mitigation activity under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Facilitated by the KliK Foundation, this initiative supports the distribution of next generation cookstoves to households in Ghana and issues Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) based on verified emissions reductions. This example demonstrates how carbon markets can be harnessed to support both national climate goals and local development priorities, particularly energy access.
This paper explores the potential of carbon markets as a scalable financing mechanism to accelerate clean cooking adoption across Africa. We provide a comparative analysis of clean cooking carbon projects in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, evaluating their emissions reduction methodologies, credit issuance trends, and revenue generation. Drawing on recent field data and carbon registry records, we demonstrate that well-structured clean cooking projects can generate between 1–3 tCO₂e per household annually, translating into meaningful revenue at current voluntary market prices.
However, the paper also highlights key challenges—including market fragmentation, high transaction costs, evolving standards, and limited national readiness to implement Article 6 mechanisms. To overcome these barriers, we propose a pan-African carbon finance facility for clean cooking, supported by harmonized MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) protocols, pooled crediting platforms, and regional project aggregation. This model would reduce risk, enhance credit quality, and attract investment at scale.
By anchoring clean cooking within national energy strategies and NDCs (nationally determined contributions), and by positioning it as a climate solution eligible for results-based finance, governments and partners can catalyze the sector. Our findings make the case for integrating carbon-financed clean cooking into Africa’s broader energy planning to achieve access, affordability, and climate mitigation simultaneously.
This paper contributes to the discussion on energy affordability and transition equity by presenting clean cooking not just as a development imperative but also as a climate-aligned investment opportunity. As geopolitical tensions and supply chain pressures reshape energy markets, clean cooking carbon finance offers a decentralized, resilient, and people-centered approach to delivering energy for all by 2030.
This paper examines the opportunities and challenges related to the consolidation of biomethane as a key energy vector in decarbonization strategies that seek to balance environmental requirements with the large-scale supply of a reliable, affordable, and competitive energy source. To this end, it presents the Brazilian experience, analyzing the evolution of biomethane production—its potential and obstacles—as well as the development of its legal framework, with emphasis on the “National Program for the Decarbonization of Natural Gas Producers and Importers and Incentive to Biomethane,” established by the Fuel of the Future Law, enacted in October 2024.
Biomethane can be produced from various types of organic waste, including those from landfills, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, and the food industry. This versatility enables production across diverse regions of the world, each with distinct conditions. As a substitute for natural gas, biomethane can be directly injected into gas distribution networks for use in industry, commerce, households, and as a vehicle fuel. In addition to being a low-carbon-intensity fuel, biomethane enables the capture and use of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from landfills or agricultural waste—thereby transforming environmental liabilities into energy assets and aligning with the principles of a circular economy.
Nonetheless, several challenges must be addressed to scale up its market supply. Biomethane is often produced in a decentralized manner, frequently far from natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure or major urban centers. Its production costs and the investments required for purification systems hinder the feasibility of small-scale projects and affect its competitiveness compared to fossil natural gas. Moreover, the seasonal availability of feedstocks, especially those derived from agricultural waste, can compromise production continuity, which is necessary to meet consumer demand. As an industrial input, biomethane’s higher cost compared to natural gas may reduce the competitiveness of domestic industry in global markets and bring inflationary risks within the country.
To seize the opportunities for biomethane expansion and address the barriers to its widespread adoption, Brazil has implemented a series of public policies over the past years, including the National Solid Waste Policy (2010), the RenovaBio Law (2017), the New Gas Law (2021), and most notably, the Fuel of the Future Law (2024). While the outlook for biomethane in Brazil is promising, its success will depend on the effectiveness of these initiatives and their regulatory implementation moving forward. This paper assesses the progress made and identifies opportunities for improving biomethane incentives in the Brazilian context, to offer insights to other countries seeking to enhance public policies and define strategies for a just energy transition that ensures the provision of sustainable and accessible energy for all.
Co-author/s:
Nivea Silva, Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Petrobas.
Biomethane can be produced from various types of organic waste, including those from landfills, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, and the food industry. This versatility enables production across diverse regions of the world, each with distinct conditions. As a substitute for natural gas, biomethane can be directly injected into gas distribution networks for use in industry, commerce, households, and as a vehicle fuel. In addition to being a low-carbon-intensity fuel, biomethane enables the capture and use of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from landfills or agricultural waste—thereby transforming environmental liabilities into energy assets and aligning with the principles of a circular economy.
Nonetheless, several challenges must be addressed to scale up its market supply. Biomethane is often produced in a decentralized manner, frequently far from natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure or major urban centers. Its production costs and the investments required for purification systems hinder the feasibility of small-scale projects and affect its competitiveness compared to fossil natural gas. Moreover, the seasonal availability of feedstocks, especially those derived from agricultural waste, can compromise production continuity, which is necessary to meet consumer demand. As an industrial input, biomethane’s higher cost compared to natural gas may reduce the competitiveness of domestic industry in global markets and bring inflationary risks within the country.
To seize the opportunities for biomethane expansion and address the barriers to its widespread adoption, Brazil has implemented a series of public policies over the past years, including the National Solid Waste Policy (2010), the RenovaBio Law (2017), the New Gas Law (2021), and most notably, the Fuel of the Future Law (2024). While the outlook for biomethane in Brazil is promising, its success will depend on the effectiveness of these initiatives and their regulatory implementation moving forward. This paper assesses the progress made and identifies opportunities for improving biomethane incentives in the Brazilian context, to offer insights to other countries seeking to enhance public policies and define strategies for a just energy transition that ensures the provision of sustainable and accessible energy for all.
Co-author/s:
Nivea Silva, Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Petrobas.
Objectives/Scope: This research uses the Innovation Diffusion Theory to examine the impact of complexity on sustainability adoption among oil and gas service providers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It identifies seven key challenges, including supply chain, infrastructure, lack of experience, establishment and operating costs, lack of support, and lack of investment, and examines whether the size of the company significantly influences sustainability adoption.
Methods, Procedures, Process: Seven hypotheses were developed to gather insightful data on potential complexity factors. A quantitative mono-method approach was employed to assess the extent to which these challenges affect the implementation of sustainability practices. An online survey was distributed to employees at various levels within oil and gas service providers companies, including managerial, technical, logistics, safety, and other roles, to gather their feedback. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential linear regression analysis. On the other side, the impact of the company size was analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD).
Results, Observations, Conclusions: Overall, the findings supported all seven hypotheses proposed in the study. Approximately 84 % of respondents indicated that the identified complexity factors—Supply Chain (CMX1), Infrastructure (CMX2), Lack of Experience (CMX3), Establishment Cost (CMX4), Operating Cost (CMX5), Lack of Support (CMX6), and Lack of Investment (CMX7)—negatively influenced their companies' decisions to implement sustainability practices. Among these factors, Infrastructure, Lack of Investment, and Establishment Cost were identified as the most significant barriers, each contributing to 53 percent of the impact. Although Lack of Support and Supply Chain (SC) were found to have the least effect among the factors, their impact still reached 50 percent. The study also assessed whether company size—categorized as micro (=500 employees)—was a game changer in this context. Medium to large companies emerged as the most significant group in this analysis, as determined by One-Way ANOVA and Tukey HSD analysis.
Novel/Additive Information: Significant barriers to the adoption of sustainability by oil and gas service providers in the UAE are highlighted by this study. In order to address these issues, governments and private sector must work together to advance sustainable practices in the vital oil and gas industry sector.
Methods, Procedures, Process: Seven hypotheses were developed to gather insightful data on potential complexity factors. A quantitative mono-method approach was employed to assess the extent to which these challenges affect the implementation of sustainability practices. An online survey was distributed to employees at various levels within oil and gas service providers companies, including managerial, technical, logistics, safety, and other roles, to gather their feedback. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential linear regression analysis. On the other side, the impact of the company size was analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD).
Results, Observations, Conclusions: Overall, the findings supported all seven hypotheses proposed in the study. Approximately 84 % of respondents indicated that the identified complexity factors—Supply Chain (CMX1), Infrastructure (CMX2), Lack of Experience (CMX3), Establishment Cost (CMX4), Operating Cost (CMX5), Lack of Support (CMX6), and Lack of Investment (CMX7)—negatively influenced their companies' decisions to implement sustainability practices. Among these factors, Infrastructure, Lack of Investment, and Establishment Cost were identified as the most significant barriers, each contributing to 53 percent of the impact. Although Lack of Support and Supply Chain (SC) were found to have the least effect among the factors, their impact still reached 50 percent. The study also assessed whether company size—categorized as micro (=500 employees)—was a game changer in this context. Medium to large companies emerged as the most significant group in this analysis, as determined by One-Way ANOVA and Tukey HSD analysis.
Novel/Additive Information: Significant barriers to the adoption of sustainability by oil and gas service providers in the UAE are highlighted by this study. In order to address these issues, governments and private sector must work together to advance sustainable practices in the vital oil and gas industry sector.
Abdulrahman M. Alkadhi
Chair
Advisor, Energy Sustainability & Technology Management
Oil Sustainability Program
Khorlan Ayazbekova
Vice Chair
Head of Strategy Management Office (Deputy Head, Expert)
KazMunayGas
Objectives/Scope: This research uses the Innovation Diffusion Theory to examine the impact of complexity on sustainability adoption among oil and gas service providers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It identifies seven key challenges, including supply chain, infrastructure, lack of experience, establishment and operating costs, lack of support, and lack of investment, and examines whether the size of the company significantly influences sustainability adoption.
Methods, Procedures, Process: Seven hypotheses were developed to gather insightful data on potential complexity factors. A quantitative mono-method approach was employed to assess the extent to which these challenges affect the implementation of sustainability practices. An online survey was distributed to employees at various levels within oil and gas service providers companies, including managerial, technical, logistics, safety, and other roles, to gather their feedback. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential linear regression analysis. On the other side, the impact of the company size was analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD).
Results, Observations, Conclusions: Overall, the findings supported all seven hypotheses proposed in the study. Approximately 84 % of respondents indicated that the identified complexity factors—Supply Chain (CMX1), Infrastructure (CMX2), Lack of Experience (CMX3), Establishment Cost (CMX4), Operating Cost (CMX5), Lack of Support (CMX6), and Lack of Investment (CMX7)—negatively influenced their companies' decisions to implement sustainability practices. Among these factors, Infrastructure, Lack of Investment, and Establishment Cost were identified as the most significant barriers, each contributing to 53 percent of the impact. Although Lack of Support and Supply Chain (SC) were found to have the least effect among the factors, their impact still reached 50 percent. The study also assessed whether company size—categorized as micro (=500 employees)—was a game changer in this context. Medium to large companies emerged as the most significant group in this analysis, as determined by One-Way ANOVA and Tukey HSD analysis.
Novel/Additive Information: Significant barriers to the adoption of sustainability by oil and gas service providers in the UAE are highlighted by this study. In order to address these issues, governments and private sector must work together to advance sustainable practices in the vital oil and gas industry sector.
Methods, Procedures, Process: Seven hypotheses were developed to gather insightful data on potential complexity factors. A quantitative mono-method approach was employed to assess the extent to which these challenges affect the implementation of sustainability practices. An online survey was distributed to employees at various levels within oil and gas service providers companies, including managerial, technical, logistics, safety, and other roles, to gather their feedback. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential linear regression analysis. On the other side, the impact of the company size was analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD).
Results, Observations, Conclusions: Overall, the findings supported all seven hypotheses proposed in the study. Approximately 84 % of respondents indicated that the identified complexity factors—Supply Chain (CMX1), Infrastructure (CMX2), Lack of Experience (CMX3), Establishment Cost (CMX4), Operating Cost (CMX5), Lack of Support (CMX6), and Lack of Investment (CMX7)—negatively influenced their companies' decisions to implement sustainability practices. Among these factors, Infrastructure, Lack of Investment, and Establishment Cost were identified as the most significant barriers, each contributing to 53 percent of the impact. Although Lack of Support and Supply Chain (SC) were found to have the least effect among the factors, their impact still reached 50 percent. The study also assessed whether company size—categorized as micro (=500 employees)—was a game changer in this context. Medium to large companies emerged as the most significant group in this analysis, as determined by One-Way ANOVA and Tukey HSD analysis.
Novel/Additive Information: Significant barriers to the adoption of sustainability by oil and gas service providers in the UAE are highlighted by this study. In order to address these issues, governments and private sector must work together to advance sustainable practices in the vital oil and gas industry sector.
Clean cooking remains the most underfunded component of Africa’s energy transition, despite its profound implications for climate, health, and gender equity. Over 900 million people on the continent still rely on biomass and other polluting fuels for cooking, contributing to more than 700,000 premature deaths annually and significant forest degradation. While clean cooking solutions—such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), improved biomass cookstoves, and electric cooking—are technically viable and aligned with SDG 7 and net-zero goals, affordability remains the principal barrier to widespread adoption.
A recent breakthrough in climate cooperation offers a new pathway. In 2023, Ghana and Switzerland authorized the first clean cooking mitigation activity under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Facilitated by the KliK Foundation, this initiative supports the distribution of next generation cookstoves to households in Ghana and issues Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) based on verified emissions reductions. This example demonstrates how carbon markets can be harnessed to support both national climate goals and local development priorities, particularly energy access.
This paper explores the potential of carbon markets as a scalable financing mechanism to accelerate clean cooking adoption across Africa. We provide a comparative analysis of clean cooking carbon projects in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, evaluating their emissions reduction methodologies, credit issuance trends, and revenue generation. Drawing on recent field data and carbon registry records, we demonstrate that well-structured clean cooking projects can generate between 1–3 tCO₂e per household annually, translating into meaningful revenue at current voluntary market prices.
However, the paper also highlights key challenges—including market fragmentation, high transaction costs, evolving standards, and limited national readiness to implement Article 6 mechanisms. To overcome these barriers, we propose a pan-African carbon finance facility for clean cooking, supported by harmonized MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) protocols, pooled crediting platforms, and regional project aggregation. This model would reduce risk, enhance credit quality, and attract investment at scale.
By anchoring clean cooking within national energy strategies and NDCs (nationally determined contributions), and by positioning it as a climate solution eligible for results-based finance, governments and partners can catalyze the sector. Our findings make the case for integrating carbon-financed clean cooking into Africa’s broader energy planning to achieve access, affordability, and climate mitigation simultaneously.
This paper contributes to the discussion on energy affordability and transition equity by presenting clean cooking not just as a development imperative but also as a climate-aligned investment opportunity. As geopolitical tensions and supply chain pressures reshape energy markets, clean cooking carbon finance offers a decentralized, resilient, and people-centered approach to delivering energy for all by 2030.
A recent breakthrough in climate cooperation offers a new pathway. In 2023, Ghana and Switzerland authorized the first clean cooking mitigation activity under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Facilitated by the KliK Foundation, this initiative supports the distribution of next generation cookstoves to households in Ghana and issues Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) based on verified emissions reductions. This example demonstrates how carbon markets can be harnessed to support both national climate goals and local development priorities, particularly energy access.
This paper explores the potential of carbon markets as a scalable financing mechanism to accelerate clean cooking adoption across Africa. We provide a comparative analysis of clean cooking carbon projects in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, evaluating their emissions reduction methodologies, credit issuance trends, and revenue generation. Drawing on recent field data and carbon registry records, we demonstrate that well-structured clean cooking projects can generate between 1–3 tCO₂e per household annually, translating into meaningful revenue at current voluntary market prices.
However, the paper also highlights key challenges—including market fragmentation, high transaction costs, evolving standards, and limited national readiness to implement Article 6 mechanisms. To overcome these barriers, we propose a pan-African carbon finance facility for clean cooking, supported by harmonized MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) protocols, pooled crediting platforms, and regional project aggregation. This model would reduce risk, enhance credit quality, and attract investment at scale.
By anchoring clean cooking within national energy strategies and NDCs (nationally determined contributions), and by positioning it as a climate solution eligible for results-based finance, governments and partners can catalyze the sector. Our findings make the case for integrating carbon-financed clean cooking into Africa’s broader energy planning to achieve access, affordability, and climate mitigation simultaneously.
This paper contributes to the discussion on energy affordability and transition equity by presenting clean cooking not just as a development imperative but also as a climate-aligned investment opportunity. As geopolitical tensions and supply chain pressures reshape energy markets, clean cooking carbon finance offers a decentralized, resilient, and people-centered approach to delivering energy for all by 2030.
This paper examines the opportunities and challenges related to the consolidation of biomethane as a key energy vector in decarbonization strategies that seek to balance environmental requirements with the large-scale supply of a reliable, affordable, and competitive energy source. To this end, it presents the Brazilian experience, analyzing the evolution of biomethane production—its potential and obstacles—as well as the development of its legal framework, with emphasis on the “National Program for the Decarbonization of Natural Gas Producers and Importers and Incentive to Biomethane,” established by the Fuel of the Future Law, enacted in October 2024.
Biomethane can be produced from various types of organic waste, including those from landfills, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, and the food industry. This versatility enables production across diverse regions of the world, each with distinct conditions. As a substitute for natural gas, biomethane can be directly injected into gas distribution networks for use in industry, commerce, households, and as a vehicle fuel. In addition to being a low-carbon-intensity fuel, biomethane enables the capture and use of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from landfills or agricultural waste—thereby transforming environmental liabilities into energy assets and aligning with the principles of a circular economy.
Nonetheless, several challenges must be addressed to scale up its market supply. Biomethane is often produced in a decentralized manner, frequently far from natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure or major urban centers. Its production costs and the investments required for purification systems hinder the feasibility of small-scale projects and affect its competitiveness compared to fossil natural gas. Moreover, the seasonal availability of feedstocks, especially those derived from agricultural waste, can compromise production continuity, which is necessary to meet consumer demand. As an industrial input, biomethane’s higher cost compared to natural gas may reduce the competitiveness of domestic industry in global markets and bring inflationary risks within the country.
To seize the opportunities for biomethane expansion and address the barriers to its widespread adoption, Brazil has implemented a series of public policies over the past years, including the National Solid Waste Policy (2010), the RenovaBio Law (2017), the New Gas Law (2021), and most notably, the Fuel of the Future Law (2024). While the outlook for biomethane in Brazil is promising, its success will depend on the effectiveness of these initiatives and their regulatory implementation moving forward. This paper assesses the progress made and identifies opportunities for improving biomethane incentives in the Brazilian context, to offer insights to other countries seeking to enhance public policies and define strategies for a just energy transition that ensures the provision of sustainable and accessible energy for all.
Co-author/s:
Nivea Silva, Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Petrobas.
Biomethane can be produced from various types of organic waste, including those from landfills, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, and the food industry. This versatility enables production across diverse regions of the world, each with distinct conditions. As a substitute for natural gas, biomethane can be directly injected into gas distribution networks for use in industry, commerce, households, and as a vehicle fuel. In addition to being a low-carbon-intensity fuel, biomethane enables the capture and use of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from landfills or agricultural waste—thereby transforming environmental liabilities into energy assets and aligning with the principles of a circular economy.
Nonetheless, several challenges must be addressed to scale up its market supply. Biomethane is often produced in a decentralized manner, frequently far from natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure or major urban centers. Its production costs and the investments required for purification systems hinder the feasibility of small-scale projects and affect its competitiveness compared to fossil natural gas. Moreover, the seasonal availability of feedstocks, especially those derived from agricultural waste, can compromise production continuity, which is necessary to meet consumer demand. As an industrial input, biomethane’s higher cost compared to natural gas may reduce the competitiveness of domestic industry in global markets and bring inflationary risks within the country.
To seize the opportunities for biomethane expansion and address the barriers to its widespread adoption, Brazil has implemented a series of public policies over the past years, including the National Solid Waste Policy (2010), the RenovaBio Law (2017), the New Gas Law (2021), and most notably, the Fuel of the Future Law (2024). While the outlook for biomethane in Brazil is promising, its success will depend on the effectiveness of these initiatives and their regulatory implementation moving forward. This paper assesses the progress made and identifies opportunities for improving biomethane incentives in the Brazilian context, to offer insights to other countries seeking to enhance public policies and define strategies for a just energy transition that ensures the provision of sustainable and accessible energy for all.
Co-author/s:
Nivea Silva, Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Petrobas.
Salisu Isihak
Speaker
Senior Business Advisor to the Managing Director
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.
This study examines the potential contributions of renewable energy to achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria within the framework of sustainable energy transition. Specifically, we adopt the Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to carry out a GIS-based rural electrification assessment to examine the options for achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria to support sustainable energy transitions. We focus on Sokoto State, Nigeria. Based on OnSSET modelling, the total number of unelectrified settlements in the study area is estimated at 1,453 with a corresponding population of 1.28miilion. Our results show that mini-grid PV will be the least-cost electrification option for electrifying most of the unelectrified settlements. Based on our assumption of basic electricity demand, the cost of electrifying the settlements is estimated at US$231.4million, and the additional capacity that will be required will be 125MW. Given the large number of unelectrified settlements and the financial requirement for achieving universal electricity access, we proceed to prioritize the settlements using the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) and identify settlements that will have the highest utility if electrified based on five criteria: financial, economic, social, demographic and political. We conclude by noting that the technical, institutional, and governance constraints to achieving universal electrification in Nigeria are being addressed, however, the financial constraints persist. We recommend that financial support by multilateral development organizations should also include support for setting assembling or manufacturing facilities for renewable energy equipment in Nigeria as this will substantially reduce the cost of mini-grid projects as well as the associated risks of such projects in terms of cost recovery due to exchange rate fluctuations.
