Search Climate Insights Directory

The report analyzes Ghana's socio-economic landscape, projecting its development to 2043. It highlights a strong growth potential driven by natural resources but warns of persistent poverty, high public debt, and corruption. The analysis compares a 'Current Path' with several targeted scenarios—including Governance, Manufacturing, and AfCFTA—demonstrating that integrated policy interventions in education, health, and industrialization could significantly increase GDP per capita and reduce extreme poverty. It also addresses critical challenges such as the 'galamsey' illegal mining crisis affecting water and forests, and the need for a transition toward renewable energy to mitigate rising carbon emissions.

The document outlines the process for setting up renewable energy manufacturing in Ghana, focusing on solar PV, batteries, and electric vehicles. It details legal entity options, industrial zones, and a comprehensive suite of fiscal incentives including tax holidays and import duty waivers. The guide also identifies key regulatory bodies and recommends strategies to overcome challenges in financing, skills, and market demand to accelerate the domestic green manufacturing sector.

Ghana's December 2024 elections are occurring during a period of extreme economic distress and high political tension. The race is primarily between the NPP's Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NDC's John Dramani Mahama. Public trust in the Electoral Commission and the judiciary is low, and the NDC has previously threatened to boycott the courts if the results are unfavourable. The country faces risks of election-related violence, particularly in the North, and the outcome is seen as a critical test for democratic resilience in West Africa.

The report provides qualitative insights from farmers, company executives, and other stakeholders in Ghana's cocoa sector. It highlights the financial pressures on licensed buying companies (LBCs), the impact of climate change on cocoa yields, the role of sustainability certifications like Rainforest Alliance, and the implementation of digital tools for traceability and theft prevention. It also addresses social issues, including the eradication of child labour and the need for targeted policies to increase female employment in the industry.

The document evaluates a small and medium-sized licensed buying company (LBC) in Ghana's cocoa sector using the RAI Tool for Agribusiness. While the company demonstrates high compliance in inclusive structures and stakeholder treatment, it shows significant gaps in formal strategy, human resource development, and environmental impact management. The study highlights the challenges faced by local SMEs competing with multinational enterprises, including limited access to affordable finance and climate-related yield declines. It recommends digitizing transaction processes, formalizing grievance mechanisms, and developing a structured strategy to move beyond ad hoc responsible business conduct.

The document outlines a framework for transitioning Ghana's transport sector—which accounts for approximately 22.6% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions—to a low-carbon model while ensuring social equity. It emphasizes the need for participatory planning, awareness-raising, and the development of a socially inclusive vision to protect vulnerable workers, particularly those in the informal sector. The toolkit proposes a transition timeline from 2022 to 2070, aiming for all road and rail mobility to be electricity and hydrogen-fuelled by 2070. It also identifies significant financing gaps, noting that an estimated USD 22.6 billion is needed for 31 climate actions, and recommends inter-ministerial coordination and public-private partnerships to secure funding for both technical infrastructure and social support measures.

The report investigates the management of urban flooding in selected cities in Ghana, specifically focusing on the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi areas. It examines the extent to which Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) prioritize green infrastructure and engage residents in flood-prone communities to enhance city resilience. While local authorities generally recognize the importance of green spaces for flood control, the study finds that many residents do not prioritize green spaces on their own properties due to concerns about waste dumping, crime, and economic pressure to build shops. However, there is a strong overall willingness among residents to participate in decision-making processes if they trust the governance system and see their input implemented.

Ghana is pursuing a nuclear power programme to support its goal of becoming a highly industrialised economy within four decades and to ensure a sustainable electricity supply as natural gas and oil reserves are predicted to be depleted by 2045. Despite a history of nuclear research and the operation of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) since 1994, the country has faced setbacks due to political instability and military coups. Current efforts are guided by the IAEA's Milestones Approach and Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions, with the government aiming to incorporate nuclear energy by 2029.

The document examines Ghana's history of energy crises and its strategic shift toward nuclear energy to support industrialisation. It details the country's existing nuclear research capabilities, the challenges posed by political instability, and the progress made through IAEA infrastructure reviews.

The report details how COVID-19 disrupted the Ghanaian insurance sector, citing operational challenges due to lockdowns, financial risks from declining premium income and volatile investment assets, and the regulatory response of the National Insurance Commission (NIC). It highlights a shift toward digitalization and the broader economic downturn in Ghana, including a GDP growth estimate reduction from 6.8% to 2.6% for 2020.

The report examines the failure of COVID-19 lockdown measures in Ghana's urban poor communities, specifically in Accra and Kumasi. It finds that 'by-day-earners' in the informal sector could not comply with stay-at-home orders due to a lack of savings and inadequate government food distribution. Furthermore, the study highlights that social distancing was stifled because the urban poor rely on dense informal networks for food, shelter, financial support, and emotional wellbeing. The author argues that existing poverty reduction strategies, such as MASLOC and LEAP, fail to reach the most vulnerable 'bottom' of the informal economy and recommends that future policies strengthen social ties and improve market infrastructure.

The report details Ghana's response to COVID-19 up to June 23, 2020, highlighting the tension between public health restrictions and economic survival. It describes the strain on health infrastructure, the government's financial interventions, and the socio-economic hardships faced by vulnerable groups and the informal sector. The text also notes the shift in national spending priorities, the local production of medical supplies, and the challenges of maintaining electoral processes during the pandemic.

As of June 23, 2020, Ghana recorded 14,568 Covid-19 cases and 95 deaths, leading to severe pressure on health infrastructure and the economy. The government responded by implementing partial lockdowns in Accra, Kumasi, and Kasoa, and later announced an ambitious plan to build 88 hospitals in districts currently lacking them. Financial measures included a $100m initial commitment, GHS 600m for SMEs, and utility bill relief. The pandemic disrupted the informal sector, affected road development priorities, and complicated the 2020 general election preparations, specifically the compilation of a new voters' register.

The report identifies a 'cusp group' comprising 23% of sub-Saharan Africa's population who earn $2-$5 per day and straddle formal and informal economies. It analyzes three distinct credit market 'faces': South Africa is 'Stuck' due to aggressive formal lending and high indebtedness; Kenya is 'Uncertain' as it transitions from traditional loans to rapid, short-term digital lending; and Ghana is 'Squeezed' by macroeconomic instability and high costs that limit formal credit access. The document argues that 'healthy' credit markets must be accessible, robust, diverse, and value-adding to prevent over-indebtedness while enabling asset accumulation. It recommends that regulators improve market monitoring, invest in digital identification, and introduce mechanisms like 'learner's licenses' for credit to protect vulnerable borrowers.

This 2018 policy brief by the SAIS China-Africa Research Initiative analyzes the nature of Chinese manufacturing investments in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Based on fieldwork from 2014 to 2016, the authors identify four distinct types of Chinese firms—categorized as 'geese'—investing in African manufacturing, ranging from large global supply chain actors to small opportunistic clusters. The report examines the impact of these investments on local value addition, technology transfer, labor relations, and the environment.

The report identifies significant cooling access gaps in Ghana, with 12.9 million people at high risk due to poverty and lack of electricity. It argues for a transition to sustainable cooling by integrating passive design, higher energy efficiency standards, and the phase-out of HFC refrigerants. Key focus areas include developing cold chains for agriculture and healthcare to reduce food loss and improve vaccine distribution, while addressing the urban heat island effect in cities like Accra and Kumasi.

The policy brief outlines a framework for Ghana to achieve sustainable cooling through the integration of cooling needs into national energy and climate plans, the establishment of a National Cooling Plan Committee, and the adoption of passive cooling and energy efficiency standards. It emphasizes the need for 'Cool Cities' initiatives in urban centers like Accra and Kumasi, the modernization of cold chains for agriculture and healthcare via renewable energy, and the use of innovative financing like green bonds to attract private investment.

The analysis identifies 105 cities with populations over one million across 34 Global South countries where electrification is currently a viable low-carbon strategy. Suitability is determined by a minimum 90 percent urban electricity access rate and a carbon intensity of electricity supply below 600 tCO2e/GWh. While all South American cities meet these criteria, suitability is significantly lower in sub-Saharan Africa (3 out of 40 cities) and South and East Asia (26 out of 202 cities).