Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said that the government is committed to investing in renewable energy to address climate change concerns in the country.
Bawumia made this known at a National Energy Transition Forum organised by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Ministries of Transport, Finance, and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Accra.
Speaking during the event with the theme ‘Moving Ghana towards a Net-Zero Future’, Bawumia said the costs associated with the continued use of fossil fuels as a driver of the economy was high and called for comprehensive and viable plans to cater for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable.
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“We shall increase the share of modern renewable energy (wind, solar, Waste to Energy, Small/Medium hydropower, hydrogen, etc.) in the national energy mix” he was quoted as saying.
He noted that the effects of global warming, primarily caused by the emission of greenhouse gases using fossil fuels, were becoming increasingly evident, with the costs to humanity becoming increasingly prohibitive.
According to him, it is imperative for the country to take actions to slow down climate change and put in place measures to address the costs associated with it as soon as practicable, including costs arising from the transition from the use of fossil fuels to renewable.
“Government shall also take steps to promote clean energy sources including biofuels, compressed natural gas (CNG), electric, hydrogen fuels, etc. as fuels for vehicles and provide low-carbon and highly competitive energy supply to establish Ghana as an energy and e-mobility hub for the West African Sub-Region,” he said.
He explained that the way in which energy is produced and used accounts for more than 80 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions, adding that although we still need the energy to improve our economy, it was important to reduce emissions from production and the use of energy.
“This can be achieved by replacing high emitting fuels, particularly fossils with sustainable fuels such as renewable,”he said.
Story was adapted from Ghanaian Times.
