Ministry of Energy has held its Eastern Regional Stakeholders Forum on the National Energy Transition Plan at Capital View Hotel in Koforidua, the Regional Capital.
The forum follows the successful inauguration of the National Energy Transition Committee on December, 17, 2021.
The objective of the forum was to allow stakeholders to gather information to assess the current situation in the energy sector, the benefits, risks, and cost of the global energy transition, and to prescribe risk mitigation measures among others.
The inputs from the forum and that of other regions will be used to draft the Ghana Energy Transition Plan towards our commitment to the Paris Agreement and the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26).
In his welcome address, the Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong stressed that it was important as a country to take cognizance of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) seven which is “Affordable and Clean Energy” to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Mr. Acheampong also called on the Assemblies to demonstrate commitment towards the implementation of activities in their Medium-Term Development Plans against climate change.
He urged Municipal and District Assemblies to collaborate effectively with the Forestry Commission as well as other relevant agencies and mobilize communities to actively participate in this year’s edition of “Green Ghana Day”.
The 2022 Green Ghana Day which is slated for Friday, June 10, 2022 has been launched by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with a target of planting and nurturing 20million trees on the said day.
He, therefore, encouraged all stakeholders to take an active part in deliberations by coming up with refreshing ideas which would go a long way to enrich the preparation of our National Energy Transition Plan.
The Deputy Transport Minister, Alhassan Tampuli shared the government’s plans and preparation towards embracing the usage of electronic vehicles in Ghana.
He said Government was developing an electronic mobility policy to guide the development and scale-up of electric vehicles in the country, emphasizing that the government was working assiduously to introduce the first batch of electric-powered busses for public transportation.
The Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Egyapa Mensah also noted that the global energy transition was characterized by the shift from the use and patronage of high carbon-emitting energy sources to cleaner energy sources to attain a NET-ZERO target.
According to him, the government believed that the necessary steps should be taken to put the nation in readiness for the fast-changing trends in the global energy space. This, he explained, was also to ensure that Ghana thrived despite the short and long-term impacts of the transition.
“The Ministry has resolved that fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, will continue to be part of Ghana’s energy mix. However, strategies will be put in place to increase the share of renewable energy in the mix in the medium to long-term” he clarified.
– BY Daniel Bampoe