The Nigeria Sustainable Cooling Project (NSCP) has intensified efforts to promote energy conservation through partnerships with key media outlets, including ‘The Nation’ newspaper and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). 

The project aims to raise awareness about the importance of energy-efficient air conditioners (ACs) in reducing energy consumption and addressing the nation’s power shortages.

During a courtesy visit to ‘The Nation’s Abuja bureau, the NSCP team, led by the national project coordinator, Mr. Etiosa Uyigue, emphasised that opting for energy-efficient air conditioners would help alleviate Nigeria’s electricity challenges. Uyigue explained that Nigeria’s current energy generation is insufficient and inefficient use of power has led to load-shedding across the country. “If we use energy more efficiently, more people will have access to electricity,” he noted.

The project director and acting director of the Energy Transition Unit at the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr. Shehu Mustafa further highlighted the critical role of behavioural change in achieving energy conservation. He stressed that public re-orientation is key to promoting the use of energy-efficient appliances and achieving the project’s goals.

The NSCP’s initiative is part of the broader “Scaling Up Energy-Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in Nigeria’s NDC 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). Its primary objective is to accelerate the transition to energy-efficient air conditioners with low global warming potential refrigerants in residential, commercial and public buildings, thereby contributing to Nigeria’s climate targets.

In separate meetings with ‘The Nation’ and NAN, the NSCP team sought partnerships to help raise public awareness on energy conservation. Both media outlets expressed readiness to collaborate on the project.

NAN’s managing director, Ali Muhammed Ali pledged to use the agency’s extensive national and international presence to support the sensitization campaign, while ‘The Nation’s managing editor, Yusuf Ali assured that the newspaper would play a key role in educating Nigerians on the benefits of energy-efficient ACs.

The enforcement of the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) is a critical component of the project, with plans to phase out inefficient ACs by the end of 2026.