Country unveils ambitious energy transition plan: Aaims to secure $550m investment, spark growth
Photo: Ato Afful (left), Managing Director, GCGL, interacting with John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie (right), Deputy Minister of Energy, during the Africa Energy and Sustainability Summit. Picture: Elvis Nii Noi Dowuona
Ghana’s energy transition investment plan is projected to unlock $550 million in investment opportunities, the Deputy Minister of Energy, John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie, has disclosed.
He said the investment plan focused on six main decarbonisation techniques, namely electrification and renewables, carbon capture and storage, low-carbon hydrogen, battery electric vehicles, clean cooking and negative emission solutions.
The Mpohor Member of Parliament (MP) added that those critical investments would generate about 400,000 jobs and enhance economic growth while addressing the global climate crisis.
The deputy minister stated this at the opening session of the fifth African Energy and Sustainability Summit at Akosombo in the Eastern Region last Thursday.
The three-day summit was arranged by Think Energy Meda, in collaboration with the Association of Africa Sustainability Practitioners (AASP), the Ministry of Energy and Deloitte, with Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) as the media partner.
Held on the theme: “Achieving financial sustainability of Africa’s energy transition”, the summit drew participants from state, non-state and financial institutions.
Some of the participating institutions were Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Gas Company Ltd, Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and Stanbic Bank.
Strategic investment
Mr Aboah Sanie said the summit was crucial because the green economy, which was at the centre of the discussions, meant a lot for sustainable development.
He said the successful implementation of the green energy transition plan was heavily dependent on the government’s ability to create a conducive investment environment, ensure financial viability, establish credible off-takers and develop a pipeline of bankable projects to attract both domestic and international investors.
The deputy minister said the government was taking steps to use the national energy transformation framework and investment plan as its main tools to engage the international community and investors to support the country’s net zero agenda.
“The plan presents a $24-billion near-term investment opportunities in clean energy infrastructure,” he said.
He, however, stressed that the country’s first responsibility was to ensure that the energy transition did not worsen existing social inequalities.
“As we move away from fossil energy sources, we must consider the impact on the workforce dependent on those industries,” the minister stressed.
Mr Aboah Sanie described a just transition as one that acknowledged that the economic considerations were at the forefront of people’s minds.
“We must create policies that manage the economic impacts thoughtfully, fostering job creation in the clean energy sector and ensuring economic stability. By investing in innovation, we can simultaneously drive economic growth and address the pressing issue of climate change,” he added.
Sustainability measures
The Managing Director of GCGL, Ato Afful, said even as the country looked forward to a just transition into a green economy, it was important to prioritise education and skills development to facilitate the process.
He stressed that as old as companies might be, they needed to adopt innovative energy solutions and sustainability initiatives to stay young and environmentally friendly.
Mr Afful stressed that as companies adopted business modules that would enhance productivity, they must be conscious of the impact of their activities on the environment.
The Chief Executive Officer of Africa Global Response Energy Environment Ltd, Humphrey Tetteh, said the concept of the green economy was crucial, and that Ghana needed to take bold steps to reverse human activities that negatively impacted the environment.
He said it was for that reason that key stakeholders needed to collaborate to adopt innovative measures to reduce carbon footprints and promote sustainable development.
Source: graphic.com.gh
