Renewable Energy Sources As Panacea to the Global Environmental Problems

Where as the Oil and Gas industry has continue to make significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Oil producing countries in particular and the world in general, it however continue to raise more questions than answers to the global environmental concerns like the twin issues of global warming and climate change which are partly caused by the activities of the Oil & Gas industry that leads to Gas Flaring, release of Green House Gases (GHG), Acid Rain, Smog, etc. There is therefore the need for the petroleum industry players to try and strike a balance between the obvious need for socio-economic development and the global environmental concerns so as to achieve sustainable development. In view of the foregoing, this paper therefore intends to highlight those actions and strategies that need to be employed by the players in the industry in order to achieve the dual concerns of sustainable development, namely achieving socio-economic development while also protecting and preserving the future of the environment. Increase in the production and the use of various renewable energy sources, reduction or total elimination of gas flaring and deliberate policies towards encouraging the state of the art on renewable are some of the strategies that can be employed in order to achieve sustainable development as enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).