Ghana has become the first African country to sign a landmark agreement with a global coalition to protect its tropical forests and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Dubai, will see Ghana receiving up to $50 million for cutting carbon emissions by preserving its forests.
The agreement is part of the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a public-private initiative launched in April 2021 by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Norway, together with some leading global companies. The coalition aims to raise at least $1 billion to finance large-scale forest conservation in tropical and subtropical countries, and to create a market for high-quality forest carbon credits.
Ghana, which has lost more than 60% of its forest cover since 1900, has committed to reducing emissions by up to five million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. This will be achieved by implementing policies and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, such as agricultural expansion, illegal logging, mining, and urban sprawl. Ghana will also ensure the participation and benefit-sharing of indigenous peoples and local communities, who depend on the forests for their livelihoods and culture.
The agreement was signed by Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, and the founder and CEO of Emergent, a US-based non-profit organization that serves as the convenor and coordinator of the LEAF Coalition. Jinapor said the agreement was a testament to Ghana’s determination to revamp its forest landscape restoration fortunes with the right sustainability protocols. He also called on the global community to support actions towards forest restoration and protection.
The LEAF Coalition will purchase forest carbon credits from Ghana that meet the requirements of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) and the REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES). These standards guarantee the high environmental and social integrity of the credits, and ensure that they are verified by independent third parties. The credits will then be retired by the coalition, meaning that they will not be resold or used for any other purpose.
Ghana is one of the three countries, along with Nepal and Ecuador, that were selected as the first beneficiaries of the LEAF Coalition after a competitive process that involved 30 applicants. Costa Rica also signed a similar agreement with the coalition, worth $14 million, making it the first Latin American country to do so. More countries are expected to join the coalition in the coming months.
The LEAF Coalition is seen as a major boost for the global efforts to halt deforestation and forest degradation, which account for about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is also aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which aim to limit global warming to well below 2°C and restore the health and resilience of the planet’s ecosystems.
Source: Ghana Business News
