Ghana Environmental Technology Climate Change Commitments

Ghana ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or the Paris Agreement in September 2016. Since that time, it has worked to implement its commitments under that agreement.  This report explains Ghana’s efforts and summarizes what it reported at the last two Conference of Parties summits (COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland and COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt). Ghana was one of 197 countries that adopted the Glasgow Climate Pact at the conclusion of COP26.  That Pact reaffirmed the commitment of the international community to the long-term goal of limiting temperature increase resulting from climate change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

In preparing for COP26, Ghana submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement in September 2021. The 2022 Budget of Ghana indicated that USD 9.3 billion in investments will be needed to achieve the targets set under the NDCs. The sources of funding identified to achieve this included public, international, and private sector sources as well as climate funds.  However, due to a combination of both international and domestic factors, the first two sources of funding have become restricted.

Nonetheless, there have been some positive developments from international private sources.  Out of the 18 proposals submitted by Ghana to the Green Climate Fund and its co-financiers, nine of these valued at a total of $107 million were approved.  The Ghanaian parliament also recently approved a $20 million loan agreement with the German Development Bank to provide funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

During COP27, Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo announced that Ghana had developed an Energy Transition Framework to facilitate work on the global, long-term goal of net zero.  That Framework seeks to guide Ghana’s transition to a net-zero economy by 2070 in a just and equitable manner and to minimize possible stranded assets and job losses in Ghana’s oil and gas sector.

President Akufo-Addo explained that the Framework provides the optimal and sustainable pathway for fuel supply security, diversified energy mix and cost-efficient electricity generation, with an estimated generation tariff of less than U.S. $4.5 cents per kilowatt hour to accelerate Ghana’s socio-economic development.
Further, the World Bank announced in January 2023 that Ghana was the second country in Africa to receive payments from the World Bank for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This funding was part of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, which is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, the sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. This payment was in amount of $4.8 million for reducing 972,456 tons of carbon emissions during the first monitoring period. According to the World Bank, subject to the demonstration of the results from actions taken to reduce deforestation, Ghana is eligible to receive up to $50 million for 10 million tons of CO2 emissions reduced by the end of 2024.

For more information on the environmental technologies sector in Ghana, contact PaaEkow Quansah at Commercial Service Ghana at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233(0)30-274-1870. See our Country Commercial Guide to Ghana and market intelligence on Ghana.