Ghana is offering to share its experience in generating and transferring carbon credits with other African countries to help them benefit from international climate cooperation, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, has said.
She said country had demonstrated that African countries could participate effectively in international carbon markets when they had strong national systems to monitor and account for emissions reductions.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings made the remarks at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) meeting on the margins of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
Carbon markets allow countries or companies to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and receive credits for the reductions achieved. These credits can then be transferred or traded under agreed rules, allowing the purchasing country to count the verified reductions towards its climate targets.
In Ghana’s case, the cookstove project involves distributing improved cooking stoves to rural households to reduce the amount of firewood and other biomass used for cooking.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said Ghana was the first African country to complete the authorisation, issuance, transfer and reporting processes for Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
She said the country had transferred 34,705 ITMOs from a rural cookstove project under its agreement with Switzerland.
The project supports the use of improved cookstoves, which can reduce the amount of fuel used and emissions produced during cooking.
She said Ghana had also hosted delegations from Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique in 2025 to share lessons from its experience with Article 6.
The Minister offered to lead an AMCEN-African Group of Negotiators (AGN) peer-learning programme to help other African countries prepare to participate in carbon markets.
The proposed programme would focus on setting up national systems for recording carbon credits, approving projects and ensuring that emissions reductions transferred to other countries were properly accounted for.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides a framework for countries to cooperate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including through the transfer of verified emissions reductions between countries.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said sharing knowledge and strengthening national systems would help African countries take advantage of the opportunities available under the agreement.
GNA
