Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has begun a campaign for the use of electric and gas powered vehicles in the country.
This forms part of efforts to get Ghana in tandem with a global agenda to end the production of fossil fuel-based vehicles by the year 2030 to ensure net zero carbon emission.
At a National Energy Transition Forum in Accra yesterday, he stressed the need for Ghana, as a matter of urgency, to plan towards the use of gas and electric-based vehicles and work towards realising it.
Speaking under the theme “Moving Ghana towards a Net-Zero Future,” he urged stakeholders to set a specific target and propose a plan towards the use of gas and electric powered vehicles in Ghana.
Dr. Bawumia commended plans by the Ministry of Transport to pilot the use of gas and electric-based vehicles in the country soon.
Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, indicated his preparedness to use half of his ministry’s GH¢20 million to purchase gas and electricity-based buses for piloting.
The National Energy Transition Forum seeks to solicit stakeholders’ inputs towards the implementation of a harmonious national energy policy that is in sync with the Paris Accord, which aims at achieving a net-zero carbon emission.
Energy Transition refers to the global shift from carbon-based systems of energy production and consumption such as crude oil, coal and wood fuels to clean energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear in reducing carbon emissions towards net-zero.
Vice President Bawumia observed that Ghana and other developing countries would face the cost of the world’s quest to transition from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
That, he said, would result in an increase in petroleum prices and negatively impact the macro economic variables of most developing countries including Ghana.
“We have to be aware that this transition is going to take place over the next 30 years but the cost is being felt today.
“There is less and less funding available for oil exploration and exploitation and we have seen increase in oil prices globally.
“As this transition is talked about today and taking place, many of these developing countries are facing very high cost of petroleum prices resulting in economic impact such as high inflation in many countries as prices of goods increase to correspond with increase in petroleum prices,” the Vice President explained.
“So we have to be very aware of where this is going. Many have said that petroleum price increase is going to remain at such high levels and we’re not going to see any major decline.
And so how do we, as a developing country like Ghana, adjust to this new reality or if it becomes the new normal of high oil prices?” Dr. Bawumia asked rhetorically.
He expressed the government’s commitment to promote the use of renewable energy sources such as natural gas for generation, expansion of gas pipelines to key demand centres, increased access to liquefied petroleum gas for household cooking and electricity, small and medium hydro power in the national energy mix.
He gave the assurance that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Chair of ECOWAS, would champion efforts to make best of global energy transition in the sub-region.
For this reason, he said it was imperative that the regional bloc undertook broad consultation on the sub-region’s energy transition plan based on individual country’s plan.
On his part, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said Ghana’s quest for a net-zero carbon emission should not be achieved at the expense of the country’s development.
He said the country would make conscious efforts to ensure that Ghana continues to achieve her development agenda in an environmentally safe and friendly manner.
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the ministries of Transport, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and Finance.
It is expected that six other regional fora would be organised in the next two months to solicit stakeholders’ inputs towards ensuring a harmonious energy policy that is in sync with the Paris Accord.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu