Manhyia (Ash), May 31, GNA – Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels that pump carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is causing global warming, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Energy, has stated.
According to him, cooking with wood fuel, fumes from vehicles and other human related activities were causing more harm to the human body and the environment.
He said the government had put in place measures to mitigate the menace, adding that the government was working to provide cook stoves which produces far less emission.
Dr Opoku Prempeh said this in Kumasi when he delivered the keynote address at a stakeholders’ engagement on the National Energy Transition Plan with the National Association of Queen mothers.
The forum under the theme “Moving Ghana towards a Net-Zero Future,” was aimed at urging Queen mothers in the country to be advocates to create awareness of the effects of some human activities causing global warming.
The National Energy Transition Forum seeks to solicit stakeholders’ inputs towards the implementation of a harmonious national energy policy that is in sync with the Paris Accord, which aims at achieving a net-zero carbon emission.
Energy Transition refers to the global shift from carbon-based systems of energy production and consumption such as crude oil, coal and wood fuels to clean energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear in reducing carbon emissions towards net-zero.
Dr Opoku Prempeh noted that most advanced nations had set a target to end the production of fossil fuel-based vehicles by 2030 in tandem with the goal of ensuring a net-zero carbon emission.
He said the objectives of the Plan was to increase natural gas-based electricity generation, increase the share of modern renewable energy (wind, solar, small hydro, waste to energy etc), and promote clean energy usage.
Also, to implement the national nuclear energy roadmap and action plan to create a vibrant biomass energy market and expand gas pipelines to key demand centres across the country and increase LPG for cooking.
This, he said, had become eminent because of the climate change concerns such as rising sea level, increase in average global temperature, drought and emissions resulting in health complications and deaths.
Nana Amponsah Dokua III, the Paramount Queen Mother of Osoduku Traditional Area in the Greater Accra Region, who is the President of the National Association of Queen Mothers, lauded the Ministry and government as a whole, for envisaging the need for the swift transition and assured the ministry of their support in this agenda.
The Queen mother appealed to the government to reduce the prices of gas in the country to enable Ghanaians to afford it, as the transition from the use of fossil fuel to cleaner sources of energy has positive implications for the environment.
The deliberations were fruitful as the Queen mothers shared their knowledge, experiences and constructive criticisms on the way forward of this emerging energy transition drive.
GNA