Green Recovery and Green Jobs in Africa: The Case of Ghana

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for Ghana and other African nations to shift from natural resource-based development to a socially inclusive green economy. While Ghana has established frameworks like the National Green Jobs Strategy (2021–2025) and the National Climate Change Policy, its immediate pandemic recovery measures, such as the $17 billion Ghana-CARES programme, have focused on short-term stabilisation rather than structural greening. The author suggests that the G20 and multilateral institutions should condition medium-term financial support on green interventions to ensure a sustainable transition.

• Ghana's economic growth over the last decade has been driven by natural resource extraction, specifically gold and oil, which has resulted in significant environmental degradation estimated to cost the country approximately 10.7% of its GDP.
• The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe economic disruption in Ghana, reducing the 2020 GDP growth rate from a projected 6.8% to 0.9% and resulting in an estimated loss of 500,000 jobs, with 400,000 losses occurring in the informal sector.
• The Ghanaian government launched the $17 billion Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (Ghana-CARES) programme, but it relies heavily on the private sector for 70% of its funding through foreign direct investment and public-private partnerships.
• Ghana has developed a National Green Jobs Strategy Implementation Plan (2021–2025) targeting five priority sectors: agriculture, waste management and recycling, renewable energy and recycling, construction, and eco-tourism and nature-based tourism.
• Despite having a National Climate Change Policy and being a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Ghana's immediate pandemic recovery interventions have been 'business as usual' and have not directly addressed the fundamental natural-resource-dependent structure of the economy.
• The G20 and multilateral institutions like the IMF and World Bank have provided significant emergency liquidity and debt relief to Africa, but the author argues this support should be conditioned on green interventions to ensure a sustainable recovery.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). Green Recovery and Green Jobs in Africa: The Case of Ghana. https://saiia.org.za/research/green-recovery-and-green-jobs-in-africa-the-case-of-ghana/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Green Recovery and Green Jobs in Africa: The Case of Ghana. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/green-recovery-and-green-jobs-in-africa-the-case-of-ghana/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Green Recovery and Green Jobs in Africa: The Case of Ghana |date=18 December 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/green-recovery-and-green-jobs-in-africa-the-case-of-ghana/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020green, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Green Recovery and Green Jobs in Africa: The Case of Ghana}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/green-recovery-and-green-jobs-in-africa-the-case-of-ghana/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }