Ecological Footprint of Energy Consumption in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria
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Date
2023-03-20
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Journal of Technology Innovations and Energy
Abstract
Notwithstanding overwhelming evidence that shows how unsustainable energy consumption contributes to our already rising ecological footprint (EF), the situation is mostly unchanged worldwide, especially in developing countries with poor equipment for efficient energy generation, with a growing threat of global warming due to unsustainable energy consumption and its disastrous environmental effects. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the ecological footprint of energy consumption in Ijebu Ode. A descriptive cross-sectional method was employed, and primary data were sourced from systemically sampled 400 households using structured questionnaires, analyzed descriptively using Microsoft Excel, and inferentially using the ecological footprint mathematical model. Findings revealed the overall EF of energy consumption in Ijebu Ode at 0.07 gha/capita, constituting about 6.7% of the city EF share, with electricity having the major share (0.04 gha; 51.9%), followed by gas with a footprint of 0.02 gha (26%). The lowest of the energy footprints were kerosine, charcoal, and firewood, with 0.003 gha (3.9%), 0.002 gha (2.6%), and 0.001 gha (1.3%), respectively. Thus, we conclude that Ijebu Ode has sustainable energy consumption, and therefore calls for practical policy directives aimed at improving our natural gas distribution potential to facilitate household availability and affordability in light of our reputation as the highest natural gas reserve holder in Africa.
Description
Presently, rethinking energy consumption and environmental sustainability remains on the front burner of academic and scientific discourse, particularly with increasing energy utilization and fossil fuel-based energy systems generating huge environmental concerns.Studies have identified unsustainable consumption and the diminishing planet’s ecological capital as one of many of the main causes of environmental degradation and climate change (Ahmed & Wang, 2019; Ahmed et al., 2020; Omojolaibi & Nathaniel, 2020). This is most concerning for fossil fuel utilization because of its high carbon emissions and overall impact on environmental degradation, as evident from continued global warming.It has been documented by the Global Footprint Network (GFN) (2018) that around 80 percent of the world’s populace resides in countries with substantial environmental concerns, and almost all emerging countries are experiencing ecological deficits, including Nigeria, with an ecological deficit of -0.4 gha (GFN, 2022). The ecological footprint (EF), which estimates the bio-productive surface required to support a population, was first introduced by Rees and Wackernagel in 1992 (Wakernagel & Rees, 1996).The ecological resources that a defined population needs to generate the resources it uses and absorb the waste generated, particularly carbon emissions, are regarded as the EF demand (Bello et al., 2018; Kassouri & Altntaş, 2020; Long et al., 2020).It is an accounting tool for regulating and determining the natural resources used in a community (GFN, 2018) and has roots in the sustainability principle, which asserts that our consumption of renewable assets should not exceed their potential to reproduce (Daly,1990).Studies have proven the influence of energy consumption on EFs, notably fossil fuel sources known for their large carbon emissions, which are worsened by the fact that human growth depends on energy at the cost of sustainability.For example, fossil fuels have been shown to reduce the value of the environment by increasing the carbon and ecological footprint (Ahmed et al., 2019).In a related study, Nathaniel (2020) stated that excessive energy usage increases Indonesia's EF statisticsover the long and short term.In another pertinent study, Khan and Hou (2020) discovered a positive association between energy consumption per person and EF levels.
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Citation
43.Sawyerr H , Opasola O. A, Otto, E, and Nsikak A. (2023). Ecological Footprint of Energy Consumption in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria . Journal of Technology Innovations and Energy, 2(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.56556/jtie.v2i1.428