The World Bank has expressed satisfaction with the impact of the over $21 million carbon finance credits Ghana received for reducing emissions in the cocoa forest landscape under the Ghana Cocoa REDD+ Programme (GCRP).
The bank subsequently indicated its willingness to support the government to sustain the gains beyond the December 31, 2027 completion date.
The Vice-President of the World Bank in charge of the Planet, Guangzhe Chen, who is currently on a working visit to Ghana, said the institution would support the government’s national strategy to scale up carbon emissions reduction efforts.
He added that the multiple benefits of the emission reduction programme, which included restoring forests and delivering development to communities within the country’s cocoa landscape, were ample evidence that the programme was worth sustaining.
Mr Chen was speaking during a field visit to some project sites at the Atewa Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA) in the Eastern Region last Monday.
The high-powered World Bank delegation included the Regional Practice Director for the Planet team, Western and Central Africa Region, Chakib Jenane; and the Bank’s Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Robert Taliercio O’Brien.
Officials from the Forestry Commission, on the other hand, included the Board Chairman, Isaac Essien; the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Hugh C. A Brown, and the Director of Climate Change, Dr Joseph Appiah-Gyapong.
Context
As part of the GCRP, the Emissions Reductions Programme) -P160339 was implemented with support from the World Bank.
The World Bank Vice-President for Planet, Guangzhe Chen (3rd right), with other members of the delegation, at one of the boreholes constructed for the Pano community under the GCRP.
The Emissions Reduction Partnership Agreement (ERPA) was signed with the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Carbon Fund for up to $50 million for 10 million tonnes of emissions reduction equivalence.
The facility was approved in June 2019 and was expected to run up to December 30, 2027. It is one of the first result-based carbon programmes in Ghana, the second in Africa, and the third globally.
It covers 5.9 million hectares, working with over 140,000 cocoa farmers in six HIAs.
The first emissions reduction payment of $4.8 million was received in June 2023 for 972,465 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalence (tCO₂e) for the 2019 monitoring period.
A second payment of $16.9 million was received in June 2024 for 3,379,161 tCO₂e for the 2020–2021 monitoring period, demonstrating continued progress in reducing emissions.
Field trip
During the field visit, it was confirmed that the Atewa HIA had received a total of USD 1,095,611.68 for the first and second emission reduction payments under the GCFRP.
The team visited Pano, KwasiKomfo, Potroase, and Amanfrom communities in the Atewa HIA, where members interacted with the chiefs and people to ascertain the impact of the emissions reduction payments.
The team ascertained that the funds had been invested directly into community welfare and agricultural productivity by supporting farmers through the provision of inputs such as machetes, wellington boots, pruners, motorised spraying machines, and tree seedlings.
Again, evidence on the ground showed that part of the money had been channelled into community development projects such as the construction of boreholes, the supply of desks to local schools, and other livelihood support projects.
The World Bank team also visited some cocoa farms to learn firsthand how farmers had adopted sustainable farming practices as part of the capacity-building component of the GCRP to improve their crop yields while protecting forests.
Good impression
The World Bank Vice-President said it was fulfilling that the GCRP had supported local communities to protect and restore the forest in exchange for carbon finance credits.
“This is an incentive for the cocoa farmers to continue to protect the forest, which is an asset for the country and nature, so that the country will continue to pursue sustainable development,” he said.
Touching on what his observations were, he said: “I saw a great level of acceptance and support for the programme from the community and traditional authorities, which shows collective resolve to protect the environment.”
He added that the World Bank would continue to collaborate with the government to leverage the potential of carbon credits for forest restoration and sustainable development.
Mr Chen said while carbon finance was important, it was not sufficient to meet all the demands in the communities and the country.
“So, we want to see whether there is a national priority in the government, and of course, we can partner to pursue it,” he said.
For his part, Mr O’Brien commended Ghana for taking a bold step towards forest protection and leveraging the carbon market.
“We have seen that Ghana has already established itself as a leader in Africa and among the leaders globally in developing a carbon market, so we want to support Ghana to do more,” he said.
He said based on the success story of the emissions reduction programme, the Bank would engage the government on the way forward to sustain it.
Local impact
For his part, Dr Brown said the over $21 million that the country received from the World Bank as carbon payments had been of immense benefit, especially where 69 per cent of the amount went to the communities and the chiefs.
He said the 23 per cent of the total carbon payments that came to the Forestry Commission had helped build institutional capacity and procure vehicles, motorbikes, and other logistics to fight forest crimes.
Touching on the outstanding tranches of carbon payments, he said about $17 million was expected to be paid before the end of the third quarter of this year.
“We are done with the assessment, and we are expecting to be paid about $17 million by the end of the third quarter of this year.
The fourth and final tranche of $15 million would be paid before the project lapses,” he added.
