The
government of Ghana has rejected the proposed $1.5 billion coal project to be
established in the Ekumfi Aboano District in the country’s central region.
The
Volta River Authority (VRA) and Shenzhen Energy Group have been pushing to get
a 700MW coal plant up and running from April 2017.
But
contrary to public announcements, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology
and Innovation, Mahama Ayariga, says the country has yet to grant permit for
the construction of the coal plant.
“Having
gone to deposit our instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement, we will
not come back home and be permitting coal plants,” the Minister asserted.
Anti-coal
campaigners should be relieved with government’s new position; but they are
demanding a Presidential decree to formally and publicly cancel the ambitious
coal project and any future fossil fuel plans.
“Coal
has severe health and environmental consequences so much so that developed
nations are shying away from it. Our message is clear: the government
should refrain from the coal fallacy once and for all and instead redirect its
focus on renewable energy sources,” said Chibeze Ezekiel, 350.org
Ghana anti-coal campaigner.
High-level
officials struggled to justify the proposed coal plant when it came about
in 2013, during the country's worst energy crises.
The
coal power project was intended to contribute to addressing the power
generation shortfall in Ghana to meet domestic and industrial demands.
But opposition to the coal option described the proposal
as the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Anti-coal
campaigners argued for the protection of the environment without compromising on
the health of the people and the integrity of the ecosystems.
The
coal plant would have contradicted Ghana’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change last August in the pursuit of sustainable development and
attaining clean energy goals in line with Ghana’s Intended Nationally
Determined Contribution (GH-INDC).
The
Paris agreement, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, comes into
effect in November, just before the Conference of Parties (COP22) taking place
in Marrakesh, Morocco.
“There
is no future in fossil fuel investments. The world urgently needs a just
transition to 100% renewable energy with universal access across the globe,”
said Landry Nintereste, 350Africa Regional Team Leader. “The African
continent is well positioned to take the lead, refuse energy models that
aggravate climate chaos and compromises it renewable development path”.
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