By Edward Acquah
Accra, March 22, GNA – A nine-member delegation drawn from Namibian government institutions is in Ghana to understudy the country’s Carbon Market project.
Ghana is one of the few countries in Africa to develop a comprehensive Carbon Market Framework – an initiative that seeks to unlock investments to create green businesses and provide jobs.
The Namibian delegation will be in the country for five days, during which they would explore Ghana’s Carbon Market implementation strategies.
They are also expected to tour some Project sites, including rice farms in the Volta Region under the carbon project, solar taxi site and the Compost Plant in Accra to explore how solid waste is being converted into compost and other recoverable products.
The Namibian team, led by Mr Petrus Muteyauli, Head of Multilateral Environmental Agreements at Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, on Monday paid a courtesy call on Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation at his office in Accra.
Mr Muteyauli told the Ghana News Agency that Namibia was establishing its own carbon market office, adding that the visit would afford the team the opportunity to learn from Ghana’s experiences in the carbon market space.
“Part of our project requirements is for us to meet our fellow African countries that have developed these frameworks and Ghana is among the very first countries in Africa to develop this important framework
“Our purpose is to come and learn from your knowledge on how you went about and what are the key priorities we can pick and help us to get ours on board,” he said.
Mr Muteyauli said the team was hopeful that after the visit, Namibia and Ghana would establish strong partnership and work together on various projects for the benefit of both countries.
During a brief meeting with the delegation, Dr Afriyie assured them on the readiness of Ghana to share her expertise with Namibia on carbon market and its related programmes.
He said African countries must appreciate the danger posed by climate change on the continent and work together to reduce its impact on livelihoods.
“We should not treat climate change as a mere mechanical issue… The profound issues should not be lost in the conversation. We should bring conscience and morality to the table when we are discussing this issue.” Dr Afriyie said.
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, create green businesses and jobs.
GNA