SUSTAINABLE COOLING FOR ALL IN GHANA

This report by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) examines the cooling landscape in Ghana, highlighting the critical need for sustainable cooling to support healthcare, agriculture, and human safety. It identifies significant access gaps, with millions of people at high or medium risk due to heat exposure and lack of electricity. The document provides a roadmap for a just transition, recommending passive cooling strategies, higher energy efficiency standards, the phase-out of HFC refrigerants, and the decarbonization of the power sector to align with Ghana's net-zero emissions target by 2060.

• Approximately 12.9 million people in Ghana are at high risk due to a lack of access to cooling, comprising 4.17 million rural poor and 8.78 million urban poor who live below the international poverty line of USD 2.15 per day.
• An additional 16.6 million lower-middle-income people are at medium risk due to limited financial resources and lack of electricity, often purchasing inefficient cooling devices that increase energy costs and emissions.
• Ghana's refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sector is projected to see energy demand rise from 7.04 TWh in 2015 to 20.9 TWh by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions increasing from 5.05 mT CO2eq to 12.8 mT CO2eq under a business-as-usual scenario.
• The agricultural sector faces significant food loss, wasting 3.2 million tons of food annually, which costs the country approximately GHS 762.32 billion. Developing cold chain infrastructure for fruits and vegetables could generate up to USD 900 million in annual revenue.
• Ghana's healthcare cold chain is fractured; in 2021, only 14 temperature-controlled vehicles were available nationwide, which severely hindered the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to rural populations.
• Urban heat island effects in cities like Accra cause temperatures to be nearly 5°C higher than surrounding rural areas. By 2030, heat stress is projected to cause a loss of approximately 12 percent of working hours in the construction and agriculture sectors.
• The majority of air conditioners in Ghana are highly inefficient, with 85 percent falling into the lowest energy efficiency category (1 star).
• Passive cooling strategies, such as solar shading and natural ventilation, can reduce cooling loads by up to 35 percent in office buildings and lower energy use by 50 percent.
• Ghana aims for net-zero emissions by 2060 through the Energy Transition and Investment Plan (ETIP), which involves shifting the power generation mix to 82 percent solar PV, 10 percent nuclear, and 8 percent hydro by 2060.
• To improve the cooling landscape, the report recommends establishing a National Cooling Plan Committee (NCPC) to provide cross-ministerial coordination and a national centre for sustainable cooling to serve as a resource hub.

APA

Lenartowicz, T., Hartley, B., Abrokwaa, M., & Dean, B. (n.d.). SUSTAINABLE COOLING FOR ALL IN GHANA. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2024-12/SEforALL-Ghana-Cooling-Report-webversion.pdf

Chicago

Lenartowicz, Tilly, Ben Hartley, Michael Abrokwaa, and Brian Dean. SUSTAINABLE COOLING FOR ALL IN GHANA. Sustainable Energy for All, n.d. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2024-12/SEforALL-Ghana-Cooling-Report-webversion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lenartowicz |first1=Tilly |last2=Hartley |first2=Ben |last3=Abrokwaa |first3=Michael |last4=Dean |first4=Brian |title=SUSTAINABLE COOLING FOR ALL IN GHANA |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2024-12/SEforALL-Ghana-Cooling-Report-webversion.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lenartowiczndsustainable, author = {Lenartowicz, Tilly and Hartley, Ben and Abrokwaa, Michael and Dean, Brian}, title = {{SUSTAINABLE COOLING FOR ALL IN GHANA}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2024-12/SEforALL-Ghana-Cooling-Report-webversion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }