By Albert Oppong-Ansah
Accra, Feb. 8, GNA – The board of the Klick Foundation, Switzerland’s carbon credit procurement agency has granted USD 850 million in funding for six of 12 projects aimed at reducing emissions in Ghana.
Of the USD 850 million, USD 700 million will be invested directly in the projects, USD 30 million is to go to the government in fees, and USD 150 million is expected to be generated from carbon credit revenue.
The projects include green cooling air conditioning, deployment of clean cooking, renewable energy, electric mobility, compost, sustainable palm oil production and sustainable rice cultivation.
The projects, which are in line with Ghana’s bilateral agreement with the Government of Switzerland, is under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement that allows public and private institutions to collaborate to invest in climate change mitigation interventions and exchange carbon credits for payment
Dr Daniel Tutu Benefoh, Acting Director, United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change Focal Point for Ghana disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Through the projects, he said, Ghana would reduce its emission of six million tones by 2023 and provide a minimum of 7000 jobs.
Dr Benefoh explained that some of the investment coming in the sector of the clean cookstoves and waste management would reduce pollution that impacts the health of people, especially women and children.
“There is a project aiming to install 6,000 cookstoves in Senior High Schools to improve cooking condition…that will help improve the health of cooking staff in those schools,” he said.
Dr Benefoh spoke about a project that would inject some energy efficiency in the small-scale oil palm industry as well as reduce emission.
He indicated that Ghana would facilitate the involvement of the private sector in climate action, create jobs and ensure that the economy around the carbon market benefits all stakeholders.
Mr Michael Kofi Abrokwaa, Country Manager of the Klik Foundation, told the GNA that the projects would introduce and accelerate Ghana’s innovation ecosystem through the application of modern technologies.
He said, “the green cooling project is bringing into the country highly efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective air conditioning devices. under a subsidized scheme. Left to market forces it will take a bit of time before these technologies get here due toa variety of reasons with one of them being cost.”
“Our partners have started placing orders to import these air conditioners and we are hoping to kick start the activities around it at the end of the first quarter.”
Mr Abrokwaa stated that the enhanced cookstoves received favourable evaluations during the pilot last year and that plans were underway to scale up the initiative to reduce pollution and protect the health of women and children.
Ghana has been working diligently in recent years to prepare for participation in the carbon market by implementing regulations and establishing a carbon market office.
The country is engaged in five Government-to-Government (G2G) bilateral cooperative approaches namely Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea and Liechtenstein.
GNA