AGRA to lift two million Ghanaians out of poverty by 2020

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has set a vision of success in lifting two million Ghanaians out of poverty by end of year 2020 through its agricultural investments.

AGRA Country Head, Dr. Kwasi Ampofo, says the Alliance’s interventions in Ghana are geared towards growing the overall food production by ensuring smallholder farmers, especially women, benefit from the process.

This will be achieved through the sustainable use of high quality seeds of improved crop varieties, use of fertilizers and integrated soil fertility management technologies, according to Dr. Ampofo.

The target, he says, will also demand an enabling policy reforms that increase productivity of staple food crops, access to organized markets and doubling the income of farmers from the sale of surpluses produced.

“The results that we want to achieve are high impacts including the percentage of rural population that falls below the poverty line in Ghana,” he said.

Over the last seven years, AGRA has spent $40million in support of agricultural development in Ghana and is looking at spending $65million from 2014-2020.

Ghana’s agricultural sector has enjoyed a steady growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past five years, but the country faces constraints in the areas of climate change, inadequate agricultural research and development, limited access to inputs and lack of agricultural finance.

“The yield gaps of major crops are very high,” observed Dr. Ampofo. “Research has come up with new crop varieties with high yield potentials but we are unable to harness this potential to increase yield”.

He stated that AGRA will continue to work in integrated value chain systems looking at markets, soil fertility, gender empowerment, innovative financing, improved quality seed production and organizational support.

AGRA has in the past focused its investments in the Northern bread basket areas but under its new strategy, working in line with the Government of Ghana’s four identified key bread baskets – Northern Ghana, Volta, Afram Plains and Accra Plains.

AGRA sees itself in a position of high comparative advantage to support release of variety release and delivery systems, strengthen soil fertility management and input system, strengthen grain value chains for improved market access and engage in innovative financing for farmers to access, said the Country Head.

The implementation strategy focuses on integrated programmes and relationship building to deliver high impact country level visibility.

Dr. Ampofo expects partner institutions in Ghana to internalize the ideas and generate ownership of interventions to transform the country’s agriculture.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Ghana Soil Health Consortium to improve agric productivity

A Ghana Soil Health Consortium has been constituted to improve agricultural productivity in the country.

The goal of the consortium is to facilitate a wider update of better adapted integrated soil fertility management practices with visible positive impacts on rural livelihoods.

It was instituted by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Ghana’s Soil Research Institute (SRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

“The African continent is facing a soil health crisis,” observed Dr. Marie Rarieya, AGRA’s Program Officer for Soil Health Program. “This challenge suggests urgency in rethinking and reshaping the way agricultural development within sub-Saharan Africa, and Ghana specifically, is realized.”

 

Rural communities, especially smallholder farmers, depend on the soils for their livelihoods. The health of the soils therefore determines the level of agricultural productivity.

Scientists estimate the world now loses about 75 billion tons of topsoil a year as it tries to feed itself.

“Such losses are not sustainable and must cease if we are to mitigate serious risk to food security. We need to share the keys to successful soils management at a much faster rate, in order to contribute to food security into the future,” noted Dr. Zoumana Bamba of the IITA’s Capacity Development Office.

The Ghana Soil Health Consortium will bring together stakeholders along the agricultural value chain to synthesize and disseminate knowledge on integrated soil fertility management generated by research institutions.

Chairman of the Consortium’s steering committee, Prof. S.G.K. Adiku, has proposed the establishment of a Soil Care Policy “with specific guides to developing appropriate management practices tailored to meet the different soils and their management demands”.

The Policy, he added, must also develop guides to reward farmers who adopt and practice soil health programs.

Ghana’s 24,000km² total land area has 30-40% of arable – a per capita arable land of approximately 0.5 hectares is what should produce all the maize, legumes, fruits and other food requirements for a person.

This demands high levels of soil productivity, but the soils lose their productivity within a period of four years of continues cultivation, due to poor land management such as bush burning, crop residue removal and excessive tillage.

“Everyday, we have to put food on the table; it means that plants are continuously mining the soils but the question is how much are we putting back? The focus of the consortium is to look at how we can manage our soils well to sustain lives, not only for now but for the future,” stated Dr. Marie Rarieya.

AGRA’s Soil Health Program is supporting the implementation of country level soil health consortia to enhance dissemination of soil fertility technologies across 13 countries in Africa.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Africa should see Kufour as an ally in seeking climate justice

Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time, says Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and Chair of the Elders, an independent group of global leaders who work together for peace and human rights.

According to him, global warming threatens the well-being of hundreds of millions of people today and many billions more in the future.

“It undermines the human rights to food, water, health and shelter — causes for which we, as Elders, have fought all our lives. No one and no country will escape the impact of climate change," he has stated.

Developing countries, especially those in Africa, are the most impacted region in the world yet contribute the least to the greenhouse gases which cause climate change.

African climate change activists under the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) have therefore been fighting against climate change injustices perpetuated by polluter countries.

They have demanded that industrialized countries urgently close the emission gap to keep temperature rise to below 1.5ºC.

Rev. Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, Jr., the Secretary General of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA), says African civil society organizations have an opportunity to make former President John Kufour an ally to effectively place the African priority on the global stage of climate change talks.

Mr. Kufour was bestowed the 2007 Climate Change Award by the International Jury of the Climate Change Award Foundation, a European Union (EU) Foundation.

As a UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, he is currently mobilizing political will among world leaders to legally agree to limit rising global temperatures to less than two degrees Celsius.

“I think it’s an opportunity that we, as civil society, need to tap on and ensure that President Kufuor, who is a true African and who has fought on many issues concerning Africa, should be able to bring the voice of the African people on the issue of climate justice, equity and accessibility of the Green Climate Fund,” said Rev. Dr. Tolbert Jallah.

In 2015, world leaders would be expected to drive renewable energies, set an internationally agreed price for carbon and secure a universal, legally binding climate deal at the Conference of Parties (COP21) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

Ahead of the COP, the UN has called for a Climate Leaders Summit in September this year as a critical moment when leaders must use their influence to trigger global action.

"This is a decisive year,” Mr. Annan has stated. “It is imperative that governments and corporate leaders come to this summit committed to ambitious actions on the climate if we are to stand a chance to reach an agreement in 2015 commensurate with the challenge.”

The FECCIWA Secretary-General believes there is no better opportunity than now for CSOs in Africa to influence global decisions on climate change, especially at the UN Climate Leaders Summit.

“Over the coming months, the Elders will appeal for bold leadership from governments, businesses and citizens to achieve a carbon-neutral world by 2050. If ever there were a cause which should unite us all, old or young, rich or poor, climate change must be it," said Kofi Annan.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Mind your environment; it is your life support

Madam Sophia Awortwi talks passionately about the environment and the need for man to be mindful of its degradation.

As a biological scientist, she is quick to reiterate the life supporting role of the environment; stating that “any crime against the environment is an offence against ourselves”.

Disturbed by the spate of pollution in local communities, the environmentalist is calling for the resuscitation of The Green Forum in Ghana to salvage the situation.

The Forum, which operated in the country in the early 1990s, attempted to sensitize people to appreciate environmental protection.

Madam Sophia, who chaired the Ashanti regional branch, recalls the sensitization initiatives of the Forum impacted on children and market women, as well as road transport operators who were taking steps to introduce waste disposal materials in their vehicles to discourage passengers from littering the roadsides.

According to her, ideals promoted by The Green Forum remain crucial today to raise public consciousness on the correlations between poor sanitation and health.

“We need to revisit it,” she said. “Otherwise we fail to do it at our own peril. If all of us look on, I wonder what the environment will be like in five years; we will be dying and may never know the epidemic that will break one day because of poor sanitation.”

Madam Sophia has co-authored a book titled “Mind Your Environment; It Is Your Life Support” to drive her call for a sound and friendly environment.

“We need to get this book in the homes, workplaces, in the schools, market places, everywhere; we need to apply the tenets of this book to whatever we do,” she entreated.

The purpose of book by Harry and Sophia Awortwi, according to its preface “is to bring to the attention of every citizen of the earth that in whichever location we find ourselves, we must realize that the care of the environment lies in our hands. The environment may be the home, land, air or water; and how we treat that environment may eventually have positive or negative impact in our health and longetivity on earth. For this reason, it is important that we appreciate the environment, understand it and take responsibility for the unique role each person has to play in its preservation and sustenance”.

 

Issues of pollution, climate change, waste management, forest and water conservation and sustainable development are highlighted in the 200-page book.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Support for green economy surges but crucial gaps remain

Governments, businesses, investors and others are embracing the ‘green economy’ idea, but differences in the way they interpret it pose barriers to sustainable development.

This is according to a report published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the Green Economy Coalition.

The Green Economy Barometer report, produced for a three day conference on ‘real green economies’, provides a current analysis of who is doing what, where, and why.

“The green economy concept is an antidote to the prevailing brown economy, which is a major driver of environmental degradation and inequality,” says Oliver Greenfield Convenor of the Green Economy Coalition. “Its purpose is to improve both society and the natural environment. Right now though, the most powerful players are backing a narrower goal of ‘green growth’, which risks being discredited unless it more effectively tackles inequality.”

The report outlines ways to bridge this and other gaps that could jeopardise the transition towards inclusive, sustainable development.

Who are the players?

While the United States and most Latin American countries have not pursued the green economy or green growth concepts, many other nations have. They include: China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Vietnam, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda and the Caribbean region.

Other emerging leaders include research institutes, civil society organizations, consultancy firms (such as McKinsey and PWC), the ‘B Team’ group of business leaders, investors, development banks and bilateral donors.

What are they doing?

Development banks are providing billions of dollars to support green growth and encourage private sector investment, whilst countries – rich and poor – are developing national green economy strategies and legislation.

Companies and international institutions such as the World Bank and UN agencies are also developing ways to measure the social and environmental performance of economies, with metrics that go beyond tradition GDP and shareholder value.

New ‘green financial products’ — such as green insurance bonds — have also come onto the market. Some of the world’s largest investment banks have drafted voluntary guidelines for the development and issuance of green bonds.

While the players are beginning to align their views and activities, there are important gaps.

A question of equity

Although governments and international institutions have stressed the benefits of ‘inclusive green growth’ for poor people, they have ignored the emerging crisis of rising inequality – which is undermining our economies and our political systems. The nascent global and national architecture for a green economy is ill equipped for delivering more equitable outcomes.

“The challenge is to marry a broad concept of green with equity and inclusion, creating growth at all levels of the economy and ensuring that everyone shares in the benefits” says lead-author Emily Benson. But while the gap between “green economy” and “green growth” has narrowed, it still poses challenges.

Most ‘green growth’ models still envisage that welfare gains will trickle down through existing channel, rather than resulting from progressive economic and social policy.

“In contrast to green growth, which has focused on attracting investment, green economy targets wider and deeper reform to create an economic system that better serves society,” says Steve Bass, head of IIED’s sustainable markets group. “A green economy should start where the majority of people are, tackling poverty and helping them to develop their assets and meet their needs and aspirations. So it should actively include the informal economy, small and medium enterprises, and locally owned and run solutions — not just big business.”

As the brown economy stumbles out of recession, the opportunity of ‘green growth’ is bringing ministries of finance, development banks, businesses, and the capital markets to the table for the first time. But the narrow project of ‘green growth’ alone cannot cope with today’s global environmental challenges or respond to societal needs.

Issues of equity and ecological limits must start to shape the emerging architecture for greener economies. For that to happen, the transition needs to be defined, managed and owned by people and their communities.

At a human level: Transforming our economies will only become politically feasible when we are able to connect the opportunities of a green economy to people’s lives. In short, that means better jobs, health, energy, food, education, housing, being able to afford old age, not being flooded (etc.).

At a country level: Scale up in-country dialogue and accords, emphasising equity, learning, shared commitment between stakeholders. Our current economic system has been framed and governed by elites, corporations and external bodies. National dialogues need to recognise country specificities including power, location and time. They also need to help stakeholders bridge opposing ‘world views’ and explore facets of the systemic change required.

At a global level: Connect global policy goals across the transition. This requires connecting the financial system reform agenda to the goals of a green economy; accelerating ‘circular economy’ policies to transform our sectors; scaling up natural resource management strategies in economic planning (via natural capital valuation, certified resource management, and payment for ecosystem services tools); and redefining our indicators of success to account for ecological limits and equity.

Build on the international regimes that actively manage both global and public goods and global risks. Powerful countries and players have ‘externalised’ social and environmental issues, which have now accumulated and interacted so much that they form major systemic risks to the world economy. Economic governance must now evolve, more rapidly and strategically, to manage the global economy within planetary boundaries and social and environmental risks.

Foreign and international relations on green economy need to extend beyond ODA and global initiatives. Issues such as trade reform, subsidies, technology transfer, tax co-operation, financial system reform, investment transparency need to be considered alongside and within green economy approaches.

Green economy goals, indicators and metrics, including the post-15 framework, should track progress towards economic reform. Measuring economic reform needs to be relevant to metrics at global (post-2015), national (beyond GDP), corporate (triple bottom line), and local. This is not just a technical task; a process is needed to share and reframe world views about what matters to people.

CSOs demand pro-poor Green Climate Financing

The sixth meeting of the Green Climate Fund Board has been asked to take note of the devastating climate change impacts in developing economies and provide a climate fund which is pro-people.

The meeting is holding in Bali, Indonesia with expectations that it will deliver a Fund which will enable developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

The delivery of climate finance for developing countries is one of the commitments and obligations of developed country governments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is one of the pillars of the Bali Road Map agreed during the UNFCCC Conference of Parties held in Bali in December 2007.

At a media forum dubbed the “Urgency of Climate Finance and the Green Climate Fund”, civil society groups from Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia presented cases of climate change impacts, loss and damage caused by extreme weather events.

It was organized by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Jubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Friends of the Earth Indonesia and Koalisi Anti Utang.

Citing the African Case, Robert Muthami from PACJA said that climate change impacts included prolonged droughts in the Horn and East Africa, the freak phenomena of floods in Mozambique, the Somali Puntland Hurricane in November 2013 which killed around 300 people, and the climate change–induced natural resources scarcity in the savanna belt of Africa that is giving rise to conflicts and severe food crisis. 

 

“Climate change is a justice issue and we can no longer treat it just as an economic issue. World leaders must put the wellbeing of people and the planet first, before their bank accounts,” he stated.

PACJA stresses that the Green Climate Fund must ensure transparency, openness, equity, easy access for local communities, country ownership and respond primarily to the needs of vulnerable communities.

Leo Lauzon, representing the Philippine Movement for Climate Change said that in November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines leaving more than 6,000 people dead, several million people displaced, and more than $879 million cost of damages to infrastructure and agriculture.

 

“Just last month, heavy rains drenched a huge portion of Indonesia causing massive flood, deadly landslides and more than 40,000 displaced individuals,” observed Oslan Purba, Friends of the Earth Indonesia.

The total cost of damage is estimated at $80 million.

Noting the urgency of the Green Climate Fund, Lidy Nacpil of the Jubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, urged the developed country governments to confront their responsibilities for the climate crisis and carry out their obligations to the people of developing countries.

She said this should be done “through tangible sufficient financial commitments to the GCF that are not through loans or debt creating instruments and not through financing of the private sector”.

A joint statement was read at the media forum titled: “No More Deception! No More Excuses! Climate Finance Now! A Green Climate Fund for People and Planet and Not Private profit!”

Climate justice activists demand African governments to be responsible

Activists for climate justice in Africa say national governments in Africa need to be climate sensitive and responsible to justify the fight for developed countries to be accountable for climate pollution.

“Are we making sure that climate change issues are taken into consideration when we are planning our impact assessment or design of bridges and roads? Are we taking into consideration the potential effects or impact of climate change?” quizzed Reuben Ottou of the Ghana Wildlife Society.

The West Africa Regional Meeting of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has been drawing up an action plan for the region for the next two years.

For the next two years, PACJA will work at strengthening National chapters and link them with other regional organizations such ECOWAS, AfDB, UNEP, OXFAM for the purpose of resource mobilization.

The strategy is to strengthen West Africa countries to effectively engage with their governments and ECOWAS in climate change and Post 2015 policy dialogue processes.

Civil society groups at the meeting expressed commitment to continue engaging national authorities “to continue the fight against climate change right at our backyard before we can project it to the international level”.

“We need to make sure these things are effectively integrated into national planning schemes from the sectorial level and more importantly to the local government level where more action are supposed to be happening,” said Mr. Ottou.

Samuel Ogallah Samson, PACJA Program Manager, noted that West Africa has the largest number of national platforms – the Alliance has opened more than five national chapters in less than one year.

He indicated that PACJA will continue to support regional activities in all the regions in Africa and urged the West African CSOs to “work in unity and cherish our strength in diversity”.

Charles Agboklu, National Coordinator of Religious Bodies Network on Climate Change (RELBONET) in Ghana emphasized the need to ask African governments to set a budget for climate change activities in adaptation and mitigation.

“We are also calling for national budgets to reflect specific climate change activities and the new and additional concepts that we have in climate change to see clearly that our governments are tackling climate change effectively,” he said.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Economic pact by ECOWAS with EU will undermine local economies

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and ECOWAS will undermine the development of African economies, according to the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA).

The organization is therefore rallying civil society groups to strongly resist the ECOWAS signing of the pact.

The West African economic bloc says the decision to sign the Agreement is to protect exports from the region, following recommendations by a committee set up to review the pact.

However, several interest groups are worried this will lead to the collapse of most economies in the sub-region.

FECCIWA Secretary General and CEO, Rev. Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, Jr., says the agreement is not in the interest of local economic development.

“We are totally against this stance by the ECOWAS Commission without consulting the private sector, without consulting civil society and the State parties. This will undermine the economies of Africa; it will undermine agriculture and smallscale farmers. We will lose access to our own markets and this is not in the interest of development,” he stated.

The EPA allows Ghana to have 100 percent access to the European Market except for rice and sugar, while EU countries will have 75 percent access to the Ghanaian market duty free and quota free.

According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Ghana is expected to lose 300 million dollars in revenue every year if it signs the EPA with the EU.

“There are huge enormous opportunities in working together and fighting for justice, fighting against the economic partnership agreement that has been signed by the ECOWAS Commission,” Rev. Dr. Jallah asserted.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Ghanaian farming communities befriend value addition to cocoyam

Mercy Odwira has been farming cocoyam, cassava and plantain for over two decades at Kukuom, in the Asunafo South District of the Brong Ahafo region.

Cocoyam is the main source of food and income to sustain her family’s livelihood. Until three years ago, Mercy would harvest stumpy produce from a large cultivated crop land.

“Now we are enjoying economies of scale; we plant on a small acre of land but harvest larger quantities of produce. I have tripled my yield on a one acre farmland,” she stated.

Mercy is among Ghanaian farmers accessing new and improved varieties of cocoyam introduced by researchers at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific an Industrial Research (CSIR).

Cocoyam is an important staple in Ghana with an annual consumption rate of 38kg per head.

To increase production, three improved varieties – yielding an average 6-8metric tonnes per hectare – have been introduced to local farmers under the World Bank sponsored West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP).

Cocoyam Breeder at the CRI, Emmanuel Lanor Omenyo, says the varieties are high-yielding, nutritious and disease tolerant – all varieties are tolerant to major cocoyam diseases such as Leap Blight and Root Rot.

“On the whole, we want to increase the production of cocoyam,” he said. “These materials [Gyimidi, Akyedee and Mayeyie varieties] have been accepted by the farmers, so we are very hopeful that the adaptation rate will be very high”.

Agric extension agent, Rita Konadu, is enthused at the adoption rate for the new cocoyam varieties. She says most farmers in the district are turning to cocoyam as an alternative to plantain, especially in the dry season.

The use of cocoyam in preparing dishes has been limited to few traditional uses like boiling and roasting for consumption.

The researchers are now disseminating technologies in cocoyam products to farmers and food processors in farming communities to enhance utilization.

The recipes introduced include the Cocoyam Fritters, Stuffed Cocoyam Leaves, Cocoyam Fish Cake and Roasted Stuffed Cocoyam.

Michael Akuamoah Boateng, a Food Scientist at the CRI, says broadening the utilization base of cocoyam is to afford the farmers access to markets for the produce, create employment and improve the nutritional base of farming communities.

Mercy is excited at the opportunity to add value to her cocoyam produce for preservation and nutrition.

“We have also been exposed to additives in processing cocoyam for a variety of dishes, especially to cater for the food needs of our children. Most importantly, I can earn income from selling the cocoyam recipes when I don’t go to the farm,” she shared.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Civil society groups caution Green Climate Fund on accountability

Civil Society groups from the North and South have expressed dissatisfaction with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) over accountability.

 “We state that we are not satisfied with the way the GCF Board is engaging the Civil Society and the lack of accessibility and availability to documents is an issue of grave concern,” charged Janet Redman from the Institute of Policy Studies.

The concerns were raised made during the North – South Strategy Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia.

“We need to have greater accountability built on the GCF; structures, processes, consultations and participations, programs, finance and project cycles at the global and national levels. This should be from the start to ensure its success, transparency and building of confidence,” said Prof. Shaddad Mauwa who represented Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

PACJA is concerned about the corporate capture of the GCF process and the source of the Green Climate Fund.

Lidy Nacpil from the Jubilee South Movement noted that the next two years will be crucial on what the South movements will be doing without permanent commitment and support for the GCF and therefore the need to maintain the option to reject the GCF if it was not shaping up.

However, Meena Reman, the Southern CSOs active observer, raised a concern that the development of the GCF was going on the wrong direction towards the World Bank model and IFS.

“We also note that some GCF board members from the developed countries believe that the GCF is not accountable to the Conference of Parties (COP),” she said.

Commenting on multi-stakeholder engagement, Liane Schalatek from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, UK,  noted that the text produced needed to be much stronger on its emphasis on the process of Multi-stakeholder engagement for which it needed to be built at all levels of engagement and decision making.

 

The meeting has drawn CSOs representatives from North to South who will engage the GCF Board members with a clear strategy developed during the two day strategic meeting.

The GCF Meeting of the board is scheduled to take place from 19^th – 21^st February, 2014 at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia.

Carbon trade is a false solution to quest for climate justice

Ghana is one of several African countries taking a keen interest in the carbon trading scheme, which offers payment for planting and protecting forest areas. 

Adoption and promotion these schemes – including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the REDD plus, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation – present financial opportunities.

The World Bank, in 2010, put the value of the global carbon market at $142 million.

Farmers and other groups are concerned about whether they will ever enjoy such benefits.

George Amankwaah has been growing trees for over 10 years in Ghana’s Brong Ahafo region. Like most Ghanaian agro-foresters, he wants to benefit from this global carbon market.

“This carbon credit, some African countries are earning money out of it but in Ghana here, we don’t understand carbon credit because we have not been trained on how to earn income for farmers,” he complained.

Ghana has joined the international REDD+ readiness process through the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which aims at creating capacity to fully engage in and utilize the REDD+ mechanism to address climate change adaptation and mitigation.

In 2012, the country was also included in the UN-REDD program, though no financial support has yet been allocated to Ghana.

To benefit from carbon trading, farmers are provided technical support to calculate the payments they are entitled to – according to how much carbon is stored in the trees over their life span.

Funding for the scheme comes from a variety of international sources, including the United Nations, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility.

The payments are made by polluting companies in Europe and America who want to reduce their environmental impact by compensating for their carbon dioxide emissions.

This is a valuable opportunity creating income for local farmers, restoring the degraded land and also helping to tackle global warming.

Farmers living in deforested and degraded land in parts of Africa have begun earning carbon credit payments by planting trees.

However, climate justice activists are contesting the credibility of such schemes in mitigating climate change.

“Carbon credit is not the way out because what the world needs is the physical elimination of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. There is no way that the North will continue their ways of production and consumption, emitting more carbon and thinking that whatever they are doing here, they are paying us to suck it out; it will never work,” stated Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

 

According to him, “carbon trade is a false solution; land grab, the non-recognition of rights of indigenes and local communities over resources will be happening if we don’t go into it and start fighting from within.”

Civil society organizations in Africa have declared that the “opportunities and limitations of REDD+ remain uncertain and Africa should exercise caution in matters of REDD+ and carbon markets.”

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

African energy leaders see global climate framework uncertainty as critical

African energy leaders see global climate framework uncertainty, high energy prices, and commodity prices as the critical issues driving Africa’s energy agenda this year.

This is according to the 2014 World Energy Issues Monitor, released by World Energy Council (WEC).

The African views are in contrast with the global view, where high energy price volatility has for the first time replaced climate framework as the top critical uncertainty.

“Our African survey finds that, in contrast with the global findings, climate framework has become an even more critical issue. Africa is dramatically vulnerable to climate change, and Africans are becoming more aware that climate change is an urgent and real issue rather than something that only countries with large emissions should worry about,” Bonang Mohale, WEC Vice-Chair Africa, commented at the report launch at the Africa Energy Indaba in Johannesburg, South-Africa.

 

In Africa, electricity supply remains a critical concern, with growing demand, lack of required investment, and increasing power shortages across the continent.  Renewable energy remains a high-priority issue.

As a change from last year’s findings, African national governments and regional institutions are taking actions in energy efficiency and regional interconnection, while investment cooperation with China and India is viewed with increasing importance.

The report captures the views of over 800 energy leaders including ministers, chief executives and the heads of the WEC’s national members committees covering 84 countries. 

 

In its global findings, climate framework uncertainty is now perceived by energy leaders to have less impact than in the previous three years of the study. 

Meanwhile, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) continues to be viewed as a technology having limited impact. 

Energy leaders are also increasingly concerned about the sector’s ability to access the capital markets for funds towards energy infrastructure, when set against a continued recessionary backdrop.

Christoph Frei, WEC Secretary General, said “the fact that both climate framework and CCUS are perceived to be issues of less impact is bad news not only in terms of emissions mitigation, but also for the development of robust and resilient energy infrastructure.  Our energy systems are in a state of massive expansion and transition, and the signals we see today provide clear evidence of the urgent need for more robust, coherent, long-term frameworks for planning our future investment.”

The World Energy Council (WEC) is the principal impartial network of leaders and practitioners promoting an affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive energy system for the greatest benefit of all.

Formed in 1923, WEC is the UN-accredited global energy body, representing the entire energy spectrum, with more than 3000 member organisations located in over 90 countries and drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia, NGOs and energy-related stakeholders.

WEC informs global, regional and national energy strategies by hosting high-level events, publishing authoritative studies, and working through its extensive member network to facilitate the world’s energy policy dialogue.