Ghana needs between US$9.3 billion and US$15 billion to implement its revised climate action plan under the Paris Climate Agreement.
The plan, technically known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and aimed at reducing emissions and adapt to climate impacts, is being implemented from now to 2030.
Each party to the Paris Agreement including Ghana is required to establish an NDC and update it every five years.
Speaking at a pre-COP27 briefing in Accra yesterday, Peter Dery, Director of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, said Ghana’s NDCs outline two main goals related to the energy transition by scaling-up renewable energy penetration by 10 per cent by 2030 and replacing light crude oil for electricity generation in thermal plants with natural gas.
He noted that the country’s NDCs were focused on leveraging natural resources to fund sustainable transition to a low carbon economy growth.
Mr Dery stated that, additionally, it aimed at enhancing Ghana’s climate change mitigation goal of reducing 64 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by implementing 34 mitigation programmes of action while ensuring the creation of green jobs, and improving wellbeing of the citizenry.
The ministry, he said, was engaging and working with stakeholders and partners to put in place critical policies and regulatory arrangements that would enable the mobilisation of resources from the carbon market to achieve the set targets.
Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, stated that, Ghana and Africa as a whole, which makes the smallest contribution to the climate crises was the most vulnerable and facing the brunt of the consequences.
To this end, he said the country was working through the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) to put forward its thinking and demands for climate action.
Among the demands, was the mobilisation and scaling-up of adaptation finance flows to meet adaptation needs and reduce vulnerability as well as innovative financing including debt for adaptation, he stated.
He reminded Ghana’s developed partners of the pledges to mobilise and make available US$100 billion for developing countries to pay for the cost of tackling climate change which was yet to be realised.
With regards to Loss and Damage of climate change, he said, Ghana recognises the impacts of loss and damage on women, youth, children, and other vulnerable groups and called for the integration of the groups and meeting of funding needs.
Dr Afriyie called for increased and sustained finance from developed countries towards mitigation programmes to generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions of 64 MtCO2e from 2021 to 2030.
He urged development partners to support Ghana and Africa’s economies which were facing challenges due to threat of climate change affecting the resource-base of the various economies and vulnerabilities in terms of water stress, food insecurity, floods, and drought in addition to high levels of poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment.
He said about 322 participants including representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were expected to participate in this year’s COP27 at Egypt.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS