President Akufo-Addo announced that Ghana has raised $800 million through carbon credit trading to support global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Speaking at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, he highlighted Ghana’s partnerships with countries like Sweden and Switzerland in the carbon markets.
“Through Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Ghana has mobilised $800 million by trading carbon credits with nations like Switzerland and Sweden,” President Akufo-Addo said during his final address at the conference.
Carbon credits incentivise entities to reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions, enabling companies to offset their emissions by funding these efforts. In 2023, Ghana began receiving payments from the World Bank under the REDD+ program, which rewards initiatives to combat deforestation and forest degradation.
At COP28, Ghana further strengthened its climate action by signing a $50 million emission reduction payment agreement with the Emergent Forest Finance Accelerator, a U.S.-based non-profit, under the LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance).
Ghana’s climate action efforts
Ghana has set a goal to cut carbon emissions by 64 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2) by 2030. To achieve this, the country has adopted 13 mitigation measures that have already reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions by 43% since 2021.
Despite financial and technical hurdles, President Akufo-Addo reiterated Ghana’s commitment to meeting the Paris Agreement goals through targeted actions in agriculture, forestry, energy, and other key sectors.
