Ghana has transferred 11,733 tonnes of carbon credits to Switzerland
Ghana has issued and transferred 11,733 tonnes of carbon credits to Switzerland under a bilateral cooperation agreement – marking the world’s largest and Africa’s first issuance of Paris-aligned carbon credits, according to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
The credits, also known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), were issued through the Ghana Carbon Registry and transferred to the Klik Foundation on the Swiss Emissions Trading Registry.
The transaction forms part of a 2020 bilateral agreement signed between the two countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
“This first transfer is a significant milestone in operationalising the 2020 Ghana-Switzerland cooperation agreement, which is also currently the largest carbon credit ever transferred in the world and the first in Africa,” the EPA said in a statement issued under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.
Switzerland will use the credits to meet its obligations under the Swiss CO₂ Act, while Ghana will apply a corresponding adjustment to its national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory to prevent double-counting of emissions reductions.
The issued ITMOs originate from Ghana’s Transformative Cookstove Activity, which promotes the use of Envirofit’s Improved Cookstoves (ICS). These stoves, manufactured in Ghana and sold at subsidised prices, help reduce household air pollution by up to 80 percent and cut fuel costs by 60 percent – benefitting hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians in rural and peri-urban areas.
Financing for the stoves is supported by the Spark+ Africa Fund and a revolving credit facility operated through Village Loan and Savings Associations (VSLAs), making the products more accessible.
The initiative includes user-training and demonstrations to drive adoption and provides hundreds of jobs in manufacturing and distribution.
The project is expected to generate an additional 60,000 ITMOs in 2025. Total transfers under the agreement are projected to exceed 100,000 ITMOs, supported by additional initiatives in sustainable rice farming and waste-to-compost projects developed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Currently, 14 projects are in the pipeline under the Ghana-Switzerland framework, with 12 led by Klik Foundation and two by UNDP. Four of these projects, targetting clean cookstoves, electric mobility (e-bikes), composting and sustainable rice production, have been officially authorised to begin implementation.
The country’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) commit to reducing GHG emissions across key economic sectors. Ghana has also identified carbon markets as a key tool to achieve these targets and raise climate ambitions.