President Akufo-Addo has indicated that Ghana is making strides in its effort to lower carbon emissions, primarily due to two of its flagship policy initiatives.

Speaking at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, the president pointed out the ban on illegal mining and the Green Ghana Day initiative as the forerunners to the enhancement of the nation's resilience to the adverse effects of climate change.

He explained that the waterbodies and vegetation cover are being saved from pollution, and more trees have been planted to save the depleting vegetation cover due to the aforementioned initiatives.

“We placed a ban on illegal mining the phenomenon we call galamsey which was destroying our water bodies, vegetation and our forest. Some 20, 000 young people have been engaged to plant more than 30 million trees in two years to create jobs and restore degraded lands.

“These policy initiatives are already yielding positive results in the attainment of SDG Goals, particularly the goal of reducing our carbon emissions,” President Akufo-Addo said.

President Akufo-Addo therefore urged other African nations to follow suit by implementing similar measures to decrease their carbon emissions and bolster their capacity to withstand the consequences of climate change.

In January 2023, Ghana became the second African country, after Mozambique, to receive compensation from a World Bank trust fund dedicated to curbing emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+.

Ghana received a payment of $4,862,280 from the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) for its successful efforts in reducing carbon emissions by 972,456 tons during the initial monitoring period of the program, spanning from June to December 2019.

Ghana has developed an Energy Transition Framework to facilitate work on the global, long-term goal of net zero. This Framework seeks to guide the country’s transition to a net-zero economy by 2070 in a just and equitable manner and to minimize possible stranded assets and job losses in Ghana’s oil and gas sector.

The Framework provides the optimal and sustainable pathway for fuel supply security, diversified energy mix and cost-efficient electricity generation, with an estimated generation tariff of less than U.S. $4.5 cents per kilowatt hour to accelerate Ghana’s socio-economic development.

Although the government asserts that the ban on illegal mining has been effective, much more needs to be done as reports indicate that galamsey activities are underway in forests and waterbodies.

Due to the havoc caused by illegal miners, the Chiefs and residents of Akyem Hemang, a farming community situated in the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern Region, have issued a 10-day ultimatum to the Ghana Police Service, Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, and the local assembly.

They are demanding that these authorities take immediate action to either remove or apprehend illegal miners who have been polluting water bodies and causing damage to farmlands in the area.

The Chiefs have made it clear that if these agencies do not intervene and put a stop to the mining activities within the stipulated 10-day period, the community will resort to taking matters into their own hands to safeguard their water resources and agricultural lands.

Chief of Akyem Hemang, Osabarima Mmirrikkissi Okasum Apori Atta, expressed his frustration, stating that the community can no longer tolerate the ongoing environmental degradation caused by illegal mining activities.

“We know you have done your best, but it is not good enough, if you can’t do it, give us about 10 policemen to accompany us. Who has authorised them to come and mine our waterbodies in the first place? We cannot build Ghana in this way…I cannot hold back the anger of my people again.

“Within 10 days, if we don’t hear anything we will apply officially, to follow due process to go on demonstration and we will need police guard to drive them away. If there are no laws in this land, let us know so we take the laws into our own hands.”