By Albert Oppong-Ansah/ Edward Aquah
Accra, Dec. 29, GNA – Ghana, early in 2023, became the second country in Africa after Mozambique to receive payments from a World Bank trust fund for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, commonly known as REDD+.
The World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) paid Ghana $4,862,280 for reducing 972,456 tons of carbon emissions for the first monitoring period under the program (June to December 2019).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Ghana’s framework on the international carbon market and non-market approaches following Cabinet’s approval.
It paved the way to implement voluntary cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Ghana.
In February, the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, began turning plastic wastes into three different kinds of fuel – petrol, diesel and gas from plastic waste
The act of turning plastic wastes into petrol was done by reprocessing them into high-value fuels and chemicals for households or small running engines.
Ghana in March started operating a Carbon Market Office (CMO) to trade in the multibillion business in the climate change space.
Carbon markets are trading systems in which carbon credits – a permit acting as commodity- are sold towards sustainable development.
The market helps in reducing greenhouse gas emission cost effectively.
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.
The CMO also developed a Ghana Carbon Registry (GCR) and other international private registries that provide registry services.
A portion of the Achimota Forest in Accra, in the southern periphery close to the N1 highway, handed over to the Owoo Family in 2013, is no longer a forest reserve.
It follows the coming into force of the Executive Instrument (E.I.) 144 gazetted on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on April 19, 2022 by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor.
This means effective May 1, 2022, those portions, [361 acres] sections of which had been developed, and had already been granted to the Owoo Family in September 2013 is no longer a forest reserve.
On June 1, about 300 illegal gold miners were reported to have been trapped in a gold mine in the Ashanti region of southeast Ghana.
Many miners were refusing to exit due to fear of arrest.
The illegal miners were believed to have entered the mine, belonging to South African mining company, AngloGold Ashanti, on or around 29 May.
Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), mid-year announced that it had selected Nsuban and Obotan as two potential sites to host its first Nuclear Power Plant.
Nsuban in the Western Region is the preferred location, while Obotan in the Central Region will serve as a backup site. Four sites were initially selected for the construction of the plant.
On September 15, the Volta River Authority began a controlled spillage of excess water from the Akosombo dam as a result of heavy rains.
The spillage displaced an estimated 35,857 people, including children – who are the most affected according to the UN in Ghana.
Ghana began the process of domesticating the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (BF).
The 23 targets are being integrated into the country’s policies and programmes for implementation.
The BF seeks to guide global initiatives to conserve, preserve, and protect nature and its essential services to humanity through the year 2030.
At COP 28, Ghana issued an authorisation letter to the Jospong Group to reduce methane from landfill sites in the company.
This is in line with the country’s mitigation actions of its climate plan to ensure air quality and public health, unlock carbon finance and create jobs.
Earlier another letter of authorisation was given to the United Nation Development programme in relation to implementation of the Alternative Wet and Drying strategy.
It is a rice farming technology that aims at cutting-back methane – an invisible gas that is produced in flooded rice fields by microbes that degrade organic soil matter, releasing methane.
GNA