Ghana is positioning itself as a leader in Africa’s burgeoning carbon market, with a call for more “green” foreign direct investment.

During a presentation at the Africa Singapore Business Forum, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Simon Madjie, highlighted the country’s commitment to attracting environmentally friendly projects – urging foreign investors to put their money into the country’s “green” sector.

Mr. Madjie noted that Ghana and Singapore have an existing agreement on carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This partnership, which already has 19 projects under consideration, provides a clear pathway for Singaporean companies to offset their emissions. He pointed to Ghana’s specific advantages, including well-defined rules, a joint committee to speed up decisions, and the country’s readiness as the first in Africa to authorize international carbon trades.

Ghana has become a pioneer in the international carbon market as a key strategy to meet its climate goals and draw in investment. To achieve its target of mitigating 64 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the nation has already established a national framework and passed laws to support the initiative. The newly created Carbon Market Office provides technical and administrative support for these efforts.

So far, the nation has signed agreements with five countries—Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea, and Liechtenstein—on the cooperative approaches of the Paris Agreement. In a landmark move this July, Ghana completed Africa’s first Paris Agreement-compliant carbon trade by transferring credits to Switzerland. With 70 project proposals already received, Ghana aims to unlock $1.1 billion in financing by 2030. These projects span various sectors, from clean cooking stoves and water treatment to ecosystem restoration.

Carbon markets have become a crucial global mechanism for climate action, allowing the trade of emission credits. This system enables nations and corporations to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credits from projects that reduce emissions. These projects can be nature-based, such as preventing deforestation, or technology-based, like the adoption of clean cookstoves.