Energy Ministry Holds Stakeholder Engagement on National Energy Transition Plan (PICS)

The Ministry of Energy has held a stakeholder engagement on National Energy Transition Plan in Accra.

The stakeholder engagement brought together some Religious Leaders from the Christian and Muslim communities.

Addressing the Religious Leaders, the Deputy Minister for Energy, William Owuraku-Aidoo said "The global advocacy for energy transition and decarbonisation has left many countries especially hydrocarbon dependent countries in limbo. So is our country Ghana and therefore we need to strategically plan to overcome the challenges imposed by the energy transition agenda and to move with the rest of the world towards cleaner energy. However, we will do this at our pace cognizant of the fact that we are not as resourced as the developed countries"

He added that Ghana is a signatory to the Paris Agreement as well as other international protocols which require the country to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050.

"This is why it has become imperative for us to plan and strategise to steer our country towards a low carbon economy while ensuring economic growth."

"The International Energy Agency in its Net Zero agenda by 2050 report provided the following key milestone; 2021 - No new Oil and Gas fields approved for development No new coal mine extensions, 2025 - No new sales of fossil boilers, 2030 - All new buildings are zero carbon ready, 60% of global car sales are electric, Phase out of unabated coal in developed economies"

"2035 - All new appliances are best in class, 50% of heavy trucks are electric or low carbon fuels, No new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car sales, Overall net zero emission electricity in advanced economies, 2040 - 50% of existing buildings retrofitted to zero carbon levels, 50% of aviation fuel is low carbon, Net zero emission electricity reached globally, Phase out of unabated coal and oil power plants, 2045 - 50% of heating demand met by heat pumps, 2050 - 50% of existing buildings retrofitted to zero levels carbon, 90% of heavy industrial production is low emissions, 70% of global power production from solar or wind"

The Deputy Minister hinted that the recent push for accelerated energy transition has received significant support from global stakeholders.

He added that the UK Government has pledged not to support funding for oil and gas projects.

"It has also adopted a policy to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030"

Mr. Owuraku-Aidoo stressed that the US government has halted new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters, and began a thorough review of existing permits for fossil fuel development.

"In 2019, the World Bank announced that it would stop financing upstream oil and gas projects. In November 2020, the European Investment Bank announced its policy to stop all fossil fuel lending including gas by the end of 2021"

He said "A group of 457 investors, which oversees more than $41 trillion in assets combined have committed to net zero, and a coalition group of 79 company CEOs have called on the G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US — to work harder on reducing greenhouse emissions and cut funding for fossil fuels"

In line with this, the Ministry of Energy in December 2021, formed the National Energy Transition Committee to prepare a national Energy Transition Plan for the energy sector.

He added that such a plan and its implementation will not affect just the energy sector but will have implications on the everyday life of the citizens.

"Consequently, it is imperative that at the onset of preparation of the plan, we engage stakeholders to solicit their inputs"

On his part, the Deputy Director Power (Nuclear), Dr. Robert Sogbadji called on all stakeholders to rally their support to the National Energy Transition Plan.

He was confident that the views collated will help produce a meaningful National Energy Transition Plan.

The Stakeholders pledged their unflinching commitment to the National Energy Transition Plan.

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Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith