Accra, Dec. 5, GNA- The Swiss Government has signed an authorisation document conferring the Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) credit on the Integrated Waste Recycling and Compost Facilities of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC).
The granted ITMO status, which encompasses four out of the 38 waste treatment plants belonging to Zoomlion Ghana, a subsidiary of JGC, was signed at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
The four treatment plants were selected for the initial phase of the project aiming to generate approximately 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide valued at US $20 million from the present until 2030.
The ITMO operates within the carbon emissions trading framework, allowing countries to acquire or trade carbon credits internationally. This mechanism facilitates the creation of new carbon markets and contributes global greenhouse gas emission reduction, defined under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
The authorisation was made possible with support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Ghana has decided to explore the opportunities in carbon market as one of the means to unlock investments to meet Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), create green businesses and jobs.
Carbon markets are trading systems in which carbon credits – a permit acting as commodity- are sold towards sustainable development.
By participating in the carbon market trade, Ghana is seeking to raise funds to implement its 25 mitigation programmes in the country’s updated climate plans (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement to enable the country to live with climate change impacts and build resilience.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation said Ghana was the first country in Africa and the second in the world to have finalised its framework on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
“Now we are at the forefront and we are reaping the benefits,” he said.
“If climate change mitigation and adaptation is to happen, the real provider of capital should be the private sector with government enabling them,” Dr Afriyie added.
Mr Felix Wertli, a representative of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) said the signing of the document was of great significance to the Swiss government in pursuit of reducing carbon emissions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
He said the agreement was mutually beneficial, adding that whereas Ghana reduced emissions and enhanced waste management, Switzerland advanced its climate goals.
Mr Wertli expressed Switzerland’s eagerness to continue strengthening its relationship with Ghana in such endeavours.
Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, expressed delight about the authorisation and indicated that the company was working towards modernising its recycling and waste management processes.
He said about a 1,000 of Zoomlion’s diesel waste trucks are undergoing conversion into electric vehicles, adding that in 2024, the company would invest in extensive climate-related research and education.
“The world is now gone green, so we are trying to see how best we can modernize most of our recycling and waste management processes to meet conditions of the new order,” Dr Agyepong said.
Under the global carbon trade framework, one tradable carbon credit (a unit) equals one tonne of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas reduced, removed or avoided.GNA