A stakeholder consultative dialogue has been held in Accra to discuss the need for political parties to incorporate Energy Transition Plan in their manifestoes.
Organised by the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (CPE), the forum was used to drum home the opportunities for industrialisation and revenue mobilisation that could be derived from a workable Energy Transition Plan.
Speaking at the event, held in Accra on April 17, 2024, a Research Consultant at IMANI CPE, Dennis Asare said an Energy Transition Plan will provide guidance towards attaining environmentally sustainable growth and development that supports revenue mobilisation.
According to him, this cannot be achieved if existing strategies aimed at reducing the effects of Climate Change are not varied.
“Existing strategies are not ambitious enough. Countries need to make bolder targets towards Climate Change. It is only when we adopt more sustainable energies that we can talk about tackling Climate Change,” he said.
“The way we consume energy and some of our agricultural practices are not sustainable,” he added.
Mr Asare noted that “our production and consumption of energy is not environmentally sustainable. We must start considering cleaner fuel. Energy should be reliable and affordable, but Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is relatively expensive.“
He revealed that his outfit has reached out to the major political parties to press home the need for Energy Transition Plans in their manifestoes for the 2024 elections slated for December 7.
According to him, the parties have pledged to engage further, once their manifesto committees have been fully established.
He therefore urged participants at the meeting to support the advocacy effort by IMANI.
Mr Asare expressed regret that Ghana is only able to finance its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) through grants.
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
He was equally unhappy that the existing legal framework in the country does not support industrialisation and energy transition. “Current industrial policies have no cognisance for energy transition,” he stressed.
Mr Asare noted that Ghana has all the mineral resources needed for sustainable energy generation.
“We have bauxite, Manganese, Lithium and graphite. Lithium is estimated to yield GHC400 billion by 2030,” he revealed.
He therefore underscored the need to develop a downstream value chain of industries that can use the raw mineral resources to produce end user products.
Stakeholders at the meeting, made up of mostly representatives of government agencies, non-governmental organisations, academia, media and political parties, pledged their commitment to the cause initiated by IMANI CPE.
Background
The effects of climate change on Ghana’s economy have become increasingly glaring, and the country’s resilience remains relatively weak. A transition to clean energy solutions remains the smartest approach to address energy security issues, secure affordable and reliable energy access, and ensure environmental sustainability.
The government has recently launched the Ghana Energy Transition and Investment Plan which among other things seeks to address greenhouse gas emissions and provides a pathway for leveraging the vast green growth potentials towards sustainable development. However, a myriad of factors, chief among them access to finance, policy misalignment, and institutional incoherencies continue to hold back Ghana’s ability to translate the energy transition into real development outcomes.
IMANI Centre for Policy and Education with the financial support of the Natural Resource Governance Institute has critically examined the opportunities for industrialization and domestic revenue mobilization in Ghana’s energy transition plan. The paper elucidates key policy approaches to accelerate low-carbon industrialization and the attendant opportunities for increased revenue generation and job creation.