Proponents
of green initiatives geared towards mitigating the impact of climate change are
exploring opportunities to receive support under the global carbon credit
arrangements.
Carbon
trading is a thriving economic venture as a result of global interest in issues
of climate change.
Ghana
has in times past failed to benefit from carbon financing as schemes like the
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and REDD Plus are yet to rake in the needed
revenue.
But
there are new opportunities under the United Nations’ Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) for small businesses who are contributing to a reduction
in carbon emission.
“Some
organizations in Ghana have been able to access the carbon credit, especially
collaborating with international organizations and now there is a breakdown of
the cumbersome process which will help small industries to be able to benefit
from the carbon credit”, says Lovans Owusu-Takyi, who coordinates a number of
activities related to climate change, including the Ghana Alliance for clean
cookstoves.
At
the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009, industrialized
countries set a goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to support
mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries.
The Gold Standard certification
scheme,
recognized internationally as the benchmark for quality and rigour in both the
compliance and voluntary carbon markets, is mobilizing half a
billion Euros for high impact carbon offset projects.
The
Standard certifies renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and
land use and forest carbon offset projects to ensure that they all demonstrate
real and permanent greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and sustainable development
benefits in local communities that are measured, reported and verified.
Sustainable
development company, Ecosur Afrique, has been working with enterprises in
sub-Saharan Africa with focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The
firm has successfully registered a waste-to-composting plant with Zoomlion
Ghana Limited which is expected to be included in the UNFCCC scheme for carbon
financing.
Project Manager, Alexandre Dunod, says success has also been recorded with improved cook
stoves which are receiving regular revenue from both the voluntary and
regulatory markets of carbon financing.
Ecosur Afrique is currently supporting a
Kumasi-based efficient cook stove manufacturer to sail through the Gold
Standard certification.
Man
and Man Enterprise has been contributing to a greener Ghanaian economy with the
production and marketing of efficient biomass cooking stoves.
The “Holy Cook” stoves is helping to relieve pressure on the
country’s forests and reducing harmful smoke emissions.
Product
innovator, Michael Yaw Agyei, says the stoves, made from scrap metals with an
in-built ceramic lining, have social,
environmental and economic benefits – reducing
charcoal consumption by 40%, creating jobs for the youth and reducing forest
depletion.
According
to him, attracting external funding would position the firm to be competitive
with other firms who are accessing carbon credit. This, he noted will help grow
the business and also minimize the cost of the stove for poor communities.
“Some
of the credit will be used to increase our production and through the increase we
can increase our profit margin and most of the money will also be used to
subsidize the cost so that the end user can get it at affordable price”,
Michael stated.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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