Accra, Dec. 12, GNA
– Ghana has recorded two million tonnes emissions reductions per annum from
2011 to 2017 as the implementation of its national mitigation policies continues.
It is also committed
to unconditional reduction of emission by 15 per cent below Business As Usual
(BUA) emissions of 74 million tonnes by 2030.
This was contained
in Ghana’s 2nd Biennial Update Report (BUR) presented by Mr John A.
Pwamang, the Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), during a view sharing workshop at the ongoing climate conference in
Spain.
A release signed by
Mr Nasir Ahmad Yartey, Head of the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of
Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and copied to the Ghana
News Agency, said the report, however, indicates that Green House Gas (GHG)
emission has increased by 7.1 per cent since 2012.
The release said
rising population and urbanization, carbon-intensive economic growth and
diversification, deforestation, road transportation, thermal electricity
generation and solid waste disposal are key drivers of Ghana Green Gas emission
trends.
It said in order to
reverse these trends, Ghana has embedded her Climate Agenda for 2030
(Nationally Determined Contributions) into Ghana’s National Medium Term
Development Plan 2017-2021.
“Additionally, Ghana
has set aside 20 mitigation actions, 20 unconditional mitigation actions in
forest plantation and fossil-fuel thermal power plants and 18 conditional
mitigation action in forestry, energy, waste, transport and industry to achieve
its emission goals,” the release said.
It said clean
cooking, reduced natural gas flaring and reductions from electricity generation
were the highest contributors to emission savings, which resulted into a
cumulative total of 13.7 million from 2011 to 2017.
Briefing the
workshop on enhancing inter-sectoral and Development Partner Coordination, Mr
Peter Dery, the Acting Director for Environment at MESTI, said Ghana has over
the years improved on coordination through inter-sectoral committees and
working groups.
The release said the
Ministry of Finance has developed a tracking tool to track all financial
inflows from developments partners to Ministries, Departments and Agencies and
that this would soon be extended to cover civil society and the private sector.
It said Christian
Patricia Espanosa, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, called for increase in
efforts to enable parties meet the global target of reducing global warming to
two degrees against the pre-industrial level and the Sustainable Development
Goals.
GNA
