The West African Regional Manager in charge of Nigeria and Ghana for the Natural Resource Governance Institute, Nafi Chinery has urged government and industry players to put emotions aside when dealing with issues regarding energy transition 

Nafi Chenery made the comment during a workshop organised by NRGI and Africa Centre for Energy Policy for the Media and CSOs in Aburi on energy transition 

She noted that emotions are irrelevant on the global stage when it comes to issues regarding energy transition.

"Emotions don't win on the global stage when it comes to energy transition, and while we have all these schools of thought about Western conspiracy, the reality is that it will come to bite us and when When it comes to bite unawares, is going to be hard on all of us," Nafi Chinery said.

She noted that there is the need to put in a lot of effort and preparation to ensure that plans in this regard are representative of the views and voices of all sectors.

The West African Regional Manager noted that government should be able  to listen to people and as well as speak to different stakeholders, particularly those who already have some information and knowledge about energy transition So they  can help share their knowledge and skills on the issues to improve on government's efforts at making things better 

In that regard,  she said that the plans by government must speak to our realities and our context as Ghana and the world which has the potential to propel the country to the next level. 

"So we need to put in a lot of effort and prepare and ensure that whatever plans we are putting in place is representative of the views and voices of all sectors. Right that the plan speaks to our realities and our context as Ghana and the world One has a potential to propel us to the next level."

"And so governments should listen to people and speak to different stakeholders, particularly those who already have some information and knowledge about energy transition, you know and share their knowledge and skills to improve on government transport," Nafi Chinery said.

She said energy transition plans need to be just,  inclusive and need to be participatory by all. 

Participants were excited about training and hopes it helps them improve on their works and writeups as CSOs and media respectively 

The energy transition is a pathway toward a transformation of the global energy sector from fossil-based to zero-carbon by the second half of this century. At its heart is the need to reduce energy-related CO2 emissions to limit climate change.

Nafi Chinnery is the Ghana Country Program Manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute where she leads the Ghana team and coordinates the implementation of the Country Programs for enhanced & sustainable impact.

Nafi is a social development expert with over 20 years of experience in development work with one of the UK’s biggest charities, Oxfam GB and the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). 

As a social justice activist with a long-standing career in transformative leadership, and an advocate for alternative economic development, she has worked with women’s rights organizations, CSOs and individual women activists including marginalized and disabled groups to develop projects and build their leadership capacity to advocate for inclusive decisions that impact positively on the lives of women and girls in Africa.