Albert Oppong-Ansah (Courtesy: Energy Ministry, New Narratives)
Baku, Nov. 18, GNA – On a quiet evening in Lala, an island community, 16-year-old Aku Boakye sits by the dim glow of a kerosene lamp, straining to read her textbook.
The rhythmic sound of waves lapping against the shore is broken by the occasional flicker of the weak flame, casting long shadows on the walls of the 16-year-old family’s small home in Sene District of Bono East Region.
Aku dreams of becoming a nurse, but every night, the darkness threatens that dream.
“I can only study when the Sun is up,” Aku says. “At night, we have no electricity. When it’s dark, it’s really dark.”
This is the reality for over 170 island and 2000 lakeside communities in Ghana, where access to electricity remains a distant hope.
These isolated communities, surrounded by water, are cut off from the national grid, live without the modern conveniences that much of the world takes for granted—lighting, refrigeration, or even the ability to charge a mobile phone.
At a time when the global conversation around climate change (COP29) focuses on renewable energy and reducing emissions, for people like Aku, the conversation is simple- they need power to build a brighter future.
For these communities with inhabitants of about three million, this conversation at ongoing climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijani resonates deeply.
It is also extremely important for some 600 million people, with a lack of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook report.
It speaks to the urgent need for adequate and sustainable funding, not just to address the impacts of climate change, but to bring basic infrastructure—like electricity—to communities that have been left behind.
Life Without Electricity
In the island communities of Ghana’s Eastern, Bono East, Savanna, Oti and Volta regions, life moves at a slower pace, but not by choice.
Without electricity, children like Aku must rely on daylight for studying, families are unable to preserve food, and businesses are limited to manual labour and overall socioeconomic potentials unrevealed.
The absence of electricity hampers development, keeping communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and isolation.
Though rich in tourism, agriculture and fish processing, they are unable to tap that potential to develop.
“We have so much potential here,” says Master Red, a fisherman and a family man in Lala.
“But without electricity, we cannot keep up with the rest of the country-our world is limited to the islands, our children can’t compete in school, and we can’t improve our livelihoods.”
Fishmongers including Adjo, Aku’s mother travel hours each day across the Volta Lake to a neighboring Kete Krachi or Defor Bator, just to charge her phone or buy ice cubes to preserve fish.
It’s a routine that consumes both time and money, resources that are already in short supply, not to talk about the risks associated with transportation on the lake.
“It feels like we’re stuck in time,” she says.
“The world is moving forward, but we are left in the dark.”
The Role of Climate Finance
At COP29, the focus on climate finance is more important than ever. The term “Financial COP” coined by the meeting reflects the growing realisation that addressing climate change—and its impact on vulnerable communities—requires significant financial resources.
“Africa is receiving less than two per cent of global investments in renewables. We need to close this gap, and we need to close it quickly. We need to mobilise financing at a much larger scale,” says Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmarkat an International Renewable Energy Agency side event at COP29.
This underinvestment, she says, has left a significant portion of the population without adequate energy access and has stifled the continent’s potential to be a major player in global markets.
“Despite their significant needs and abundant resources, African countries have struggled to attract substantial financial investments as least-developed countries are often considered high-risk. To attract the necessary capital, Africa needs innovative financing mechanisms, including green bonds,” says Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, representing the President of Ghana.
He adds, “we need to reform financial systems.
“It is important to note that multinational financing windows are not currently readily available to finance major clean and sustainable energy projects. Given this, we may have to fast track the operationalisation of the Africa Energy Bank to primarily fund transformational energy infrastructure projects,” says Mr Seth Mahu, Director Renewable Energy, representing the Energy Minister of Ghana at the High-Level Ministerial Level on Reshaping the Landscape for Financing Nuclear New Build.
“This will help balance the current investment paradigm in Africa and the rest of the world, bridge electrification access gap, ensuring a more diversified and secured energy future.”
For island communities in Ghana, this means funding for renewable energy solutions that can finally bring electricity to their homes.
In 2009, wealthy nations pledged to provide $100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. But for communities like Lala, that promise remains a distant dream.
Although Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda are on track to achieve universal energy access by 2030, many African nations are still struggling to secure the necessary funding to develop renewable energy projects that can reach isolated areas.
In Kenya recently, the challenge of finance was echoed by Ministers and Technical officials at the maiden investment forum for members of the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA), a collaborative initiative between African governments and international stakeholders, to accelerate renewable energy adoption.
All APRA member countries complained of finance to invest in options like solar power, which experts say, holds immense potential for island communities, but the upfront costs remain high for local governments and residents to bear alone.
For Aku and her family, the lack of electricity is not just an inconvenience—it’s a barrier to progress.
“How can we talk about climate change and the future if we don’t even have lights in our homes?”
Hon Sewu asks, echoing the frustration felt by many, “we need action now, not promises.”
A Focus on Renewable Energy
Ghana’s government has made strides in expanding access to electricity across the country with national access rate at 89 per cent, but island communities remain part of the last mile connection, Seth Mahu, the Renewable Energy tells the Ghana News Agency at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The high cost of extending the national grid to remote areas has left these communities in the dark, both literally and figuratively, he says.
Grid extension to these islands requires a billion dollars in investment.
However, smart renewable energy mini grids will require just a fraction to provide sustainable access to electricity to the dwellers in these islands, says Mahu.
Solar panels can be installed locally, providing a sustainable and long-term source of power. But while the technology is available, the financing to make it a reality is still lacking. This is where COP29 and the focus on climate finance comes in.
The soon to be commissioned three mini-grid plants later in November, 2024, to light up and open up three Island communities- Afklivie, Azizaphe and Alorkpem in the Ada East Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra Region is a testament that renewable works according to Mahu.
Funded by the Swiss, the 250 kilowatts Solar-BESS-Genset facility, which uses state-of-the-art technology, will provide uninterrupted electricity supply to over 6,000 island dwellers.
For the families in Ghana’s island communities, the lack of electricity is more than just an issue of development—it’s a matter of equity and justice.
These communities are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, facing rising waters and unpredictable weather patterns.
COP29 represents a critical moment for communities like Lala. For Master Red, Adjo, Afia, and countless others, the hope is that this will finally be the moment when promises turn into quick action—when the “Financial COP” delivers the funding needed to bring electricity, and with it, a better future.
The climate talks must deliver on its promise of climate finance, not just for large-scale projects, but for local initiatives that can directly benefit people like Afia.
The island communities of Ghana need more than promises—they need the resources to build solar farms, train technicians, and create sustainable energy solutions that will last for generations.
As Afia blows out the kerosene lamp and prepares for another night of darkness, she holds onto a glimmer of hope. “I know that one day, we will have lights,” she says softly.
“Maybe, with help, that day will come soon.”
GNA