The Delta Government said it trained 300 women and youths on the application of renewable energy devices to mitigate climate change and facilitate economic empowerment.
Mr Charles Emetulu, the state’s Commissioner for Power and Energy, made the announcement on Wednesday in Asaba at the end of a three-day workshop on renewable energy applications.
He said that participants were drawn from the 25 Local Government Areas of the state to be sensitised on government’s commitment and campaign to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop, with theme: “The Role of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Achieving Sustainable Development in Nigeria”, was targeted at rural communities.
He described the workshop as successful, adding that the State Government was committed to the issues of climate change and would not neglect matters on renewable energy.
According to him, the workshop is packaged by the Energy Commission of Nigeria and sponsored by the State Government to sensitise rural people on the dangers of neglecting things that affected the climate.
“We were able to reach the people through the heads of their various Local Governments and 10 persons were invited from each of the 25 Local Government Areas to participate in this workshop.
“This programme has already gone beyond just talking. As a State Government, we have done a lot and we have gone to engage international energy agency as consultants, particularly in the area of renewable energy. ”
He advised the participants to take whatever knowledge gained to further educate the people in their communities.
“My advice is that we should be very careful with what we do with materials around us so that we do not further deplete the environment,’’ Emetulu said.
Dr Joseph Dioha, Deputy Director, Energy Commission of Nigeria, lauded the government for taking steps to train rural people, calling on other State Governments to emulate Delta.
“What the participants stand to gain is that they will have access to energy, it will give them employment.
“This is because many of the participants will be trained and they will start to fabricate some of these devices like the solar driers, solar cookers and bio gas digesters; all these are simple technologies they can sell and make money. ”
In a communique read by Dioha, participants said the country’s available energy was not adequately distributed.
They said the only way the rural people could have sufficient energy was through renewable sources.
They, however, recommended that renewable energy master plan and funding should be taken seriously by the Federal Government.
The participants called for the strengthening of the public, private partnership financing of renewable energy sources as the country had the potential to harness different renewable sources.
Some of them said they were exposed to various sources of renewable energy for both economic empowerment and cost saving.
Mrs Ann Ekorhi, Women Leader from Ughelli North Local Government Area, told NAN that she had been empowered with good knowledge and some seeds to use in empowering rural women.
“I will teach other women in my community how to plant the Jatropha seeds and we can make some money from it.
“We have also learnt that when we cut down firewood and use it for cooking, the smoke will cause climate change and it will affect our health,’’ Ekorhi said. (NAN)