Ghana is seeking about $53.3 billion to implement its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), a comprehensive 10-year climate action plan designed to cut emissions and strengthen the country’s resilience to climate change impacts.
The revised framework, covering 2025 to 2035, was presented in Accra for stakeholder validation ahead of its formal submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement.
Developed under Article 4.2 of the Paris Agreement, the plan sets out Ghana’s climate commitments across key sectors including energy, transport, agriculture, industry, forestry, water, and health.
At a validation workshop, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), Madam Suweibah Adam, described the strategy as a major shift in Ghana’s climate policy approach.
She said the updated NDCs move beyond fragmented projects to a coordinated national strategy focused on low-carbon development and climate resilience.
The framework is anchored on five pillars: energy transition, sustainable transport, circular economy and waste management, nature-based solutions, and climate adaptation and resilience.
Under the energy transition agenda, Ghana plans to develop 1,000 megawatts of nuclear baseload power, expand renewable energy capacity by more than 1,600 megawatts, promote green hydrogen, and scale up clean cooking technologies.
In the transport sector, proposals include a $4.5 billion railway expansion project, an inner-city light rail system for Accra, and the rollout of approximately 1.225 million electric vehicles nationwide.
The plan also prioritises industrial transformation through recycling systems, waste-to-energy projects, methane capture, and the adoption of low-carbon technologies in heavy industries such as cement and steel production.
On environmental protection, the strategy builds on Ghana’s Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, which has already generated over $21.7 million in results-based payments, while introducing new carbon removal technologies including biochar and carbon capture systems.
The adaptation component includes a $9.648 billion investment in climate-resilient water infrastructure and a $3.155 billion coastal protection and blue economy initiative aimed at safeguarding Ghana’s 550-kilometre coastline.
Madam Adam said the investment plan represents not only a climate response strategy but also a major economic transformation blueprint expected to generate green jobs, improve public health, and strengthen food and water security.
The Director of Environment at MEST, Dr Peter Dery, said Ghana remains committed under the Paris Agreement to reducing emissions by about 71 percent over the next decade while strengthening climate resilience.
He added that the framework also outlines potential funding sources to support implementation.
The Zia Choudhury, in remarks delivered on his behalf, praised Ghana for maintaining strong and credible climate commitments despite contributing minimally to global emissions.
He noted that full implementation of Ghana’s climate plans could prevent thousands of premature deaths linked to air pollution annually and create up to one million green jobs.
Under global climate rules, countries are required to update their NDCs every five years, with Ghana’s last submission made in 2021.
