Renewable Energy

The World Bank has offered Ghana a $3 million grant to build the capacity of local communities affected by climate change

Known as Enhancing Access to Benefits by Lowering Emissions (EnABLE), the grant was approved by the multilateral bank for Ghana as a further benefit for lowering emissions in the forestry sector.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who disclosed this when he addressed a forum at Ghana’s pavilion at the ongoing 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) yesterday, said the country reduced emissions by 972,456 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) under the Cocoa Forest REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation plus) programme.

The ministers of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Kwaku Afriyie; Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor; Energy, Dr Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, and other state officials were at the forum, which was also attended by development partners and some participants in the COP27.

President Akufo-Addo said the historic feat in reducing emissions in the forestry sector had generated a result-based carbon payment of about $4.9 million.

“Sixty-nine per cent of this payment goes directly to the local communities, without any third-party interference, as outlined in the programme’s comprehensive and inclusive benefits sharing plan,” he added.

He said those different stages of achievement had put the country at the forefront of dedicated action and nature-based solutions to tackle deforestation and forest degradation.

“These achievements have been chalked up through the immense support of various stakeholders, particularly donors and international partners, such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),” he said.

The President added that the approach for implementing the REDD+ programme was integrated and multi-sectoral, thereby helping to address pertinent issues across the mining, agricultural, labour and forestry sectors.

He said other initiatives in the forestry sector, such as the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI), the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union, were all at various stages of implementation to complement the emission reduction targets.

“Pursuant to a letter of intent signed last year at the COP26, we are also working to secure a binding emission reduction purchase agreement with Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAP) coalition to support our forest-based climate actions,” he said.