Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, yesterday, Tuesday, November 12, 2024, addressed the COP29 summit for the last time at the opening of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the leader of the West African nation.
He spoke about how his nation, has reduced its annual greenhouse gas emissions, promotes the use of electric vehicles, and has mobilized over $800 million by trading carbon credits with Switzerland and Sweden in a move to reduce global emissions through the carbon markets.
“Through article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Ghana has mobilised $800 million by trading carbon credits with nations like Switzerland and Sweden,” President Akufo-Addo said as he delivered his last speech at the conference.
Carbon credits are incentives paid by companies or individuals to entities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The monies are to compensate for the gases emitted by the companies.
In 2023, Ghana began receiving payments from the World Bank for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, known as the REDD+.
At COP28, the country signed a US$50 million emission reduction payment agreement with the Emergent Forest Finance Accelerator Incorporated, a US-based non-profit organisation, under the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition.
Akufo-Addo, urged the international community to take decisive steps to mitigate the impact of climate change and safeguard the future of coming generations.
He emphasised that, “rising temperatures and unpredictable weather” continue to threaten livelihoods, particularly those of farmers, coastal regions, and vulnerable communities.
He noted, however, that despite “financial and technical” challenges, Ghana is making steady progress towards a sustainable future, aiming to reduce its emissions by 64 million metric tonnes by 2030.
As part of this goal, President Akufo-Addo, highlighted various policies his administration has implemented, including the Green Ghana project, which has seen over 50 million trees planted since 2017, and the National Electric Vehicle Policy to accelerate Ghana’s energy transition.
The President, also urged global partners to fulfil their commitments by ensuring “accessible concessional financing” for sustainable development in Africa, free from the burden of debt.
“As a father and a grandfather, I question what we will leave behind. What world will we leave behind? Our children’s future hinges on our decisions. Let COP 29 here in Azerbaijan mark a pivotal shift from dialogue to decisive action,” he stated.
COP stands for “Conference of the Parties” and is widely regarded as the world’s most important meeting on climate change.
Countries that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a multilateral treaty adopted in 1992, meet annually to measure progress and negotiate joint responses to fight climate change.
Ghana became a party to the UNFCCC in September 1995.
Since its entry into force in 1994, the UNFCCC has provided a basis for international climate negotiations, including agreements such as the Paris Agreement (2015), which aims to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C by the end of the century, and “pursue efforts” to keep warming within the safer limit of 1.5°C.
As developing countries grapple with increasing floods, droughts and other climate-related impacts, their limited financial resources are under considerable strain. This situation often leaves many governments with little choice but to borrow money to address the devastating effects of climate change.
Developing countries have historically produced very few of the carbon emissions that cause climate change but they are often among the most impacted and least economically able to adapt. So, in 2023, U.N. delegates to COP28 agreed to establish a loss and damage fund to help the most vulnerable countries deal with the effects of climate change.
For most heads of state gathered at COP29, the U.N. Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, now is the time for wealthy countries to fulfill their commitments to assist developing nations in adapting to climate change impacts.
“We are particularly concerned about climate finance,” President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo stated.
President Nguesso, whose country contains a significant portion of the world’s second-largest rainforest, in the Congo Basin, stressed the urgent need for wealthy nations to provide climate adaptation funding and address loss and damage without forcing developing countries to take on more debt.
It took almost 13 years for developed countries to fulfill a pledge to raise $100 billion to support developing countries as they adapt to climate change.
“Although the $100 billion target was agreed upon in 2009, it was not reached until 2022,” President Nguesso said.
Currently, world leaders are exploring new avenues to secure funding to assist developing countries. During the ongoing COP discussions, countries are expected to agree to a new target, the New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG)
“The NCQG must be based on scientific data and the needs of developing countries, which amount to trillions,” President Nguesso said.
Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, the vice president of Côte d’Ivoire, and the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, both highlighted the need for climate change financing that does not lead to additional debt.
Ghana, located on the west coast of Africa, has been significantly affected by climate change, notably its coastline. President Akufo-Addo called on developed countries to fulfill their commitments and provide access to concessional financing without adding to further debt.
East Africa experienced historic floods in 2024, causing severe damage in Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie urged developed nations to increase their ambition and expedite the disbursement of existing funds.
“We are very concerned about the delay in disbursing these funds,” Taye said. For many, climate finance represents a matter of justice, as it requires those historically responsible for pollution to cover the costs.
“Climate finance is a justice issue, and we must ensure that the loss and damage fund does not become a shell of itself,” warned Philip Isdor Mpango, the vice president of Tanzania.The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a landmark agreement on standards for carbon credits under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.
This breakthrough is expected to boost climate action by increasing demand for carbon credits and ensuring the integrity of the international carbon market.
Commenting on the outcome, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said, “This will be a game-changing tool to direct resources to the developing world. Following years of stalemate, the breakthroughs in Baku have now begun. But there is much more to deliver.”
The COP29 Presidency identified the full operationalization of Article 6 as a key negotiating priority this year. Finalising Article 6 negotiations could reduce the cost of implementing national climate plans by $250 billion per year by enabling cooperation across borders. Today’s decision is an essential step in achieving that goal and establishes strong momentum for continued progress over the coming two weeks of negotiations.
The COP29 President opened the summit by setting clear expectations for how global leaders must enhance ambition and enable action during the conference. COP29 is a critical moment for global leaders to come together and demonstrate their collective commitment to climate action. The summit runs from 11-22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan, and approximately 70,000 delegates are registered to attend, including heads of state and government who will participate in the leaders’ segment on 12-13 November.
In his opening address Babayev highlighted how current policies put the world on track for catastrophic warming of 3 degrees Celsius, citing the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report. “We are on a road to ruin,” he told delegates. “Whether you see them or not, people are suffering in the shadows. They are dying in the dark. And they need more than compassion, more than prayers and paperwork. They are crying out for leadership and action. COP29 is the unmissable moment that can chart a new path forward for everyone.”
To enable action, Babayev identified agreement on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance as the top negotiating priority for COP29. He noted progress on structure, access features, transparency arrangements and timeframe, while acknowledging remaining differences on contributors and the size of the final goal.
“We know the needs are in the trillions,” Babayev said, while acknowledging differences on how to get there. He also noted that a realistic goal for what the public sector can directly provide and mobilise seems to be in the “hundreds of billions”. Acknowledging the scale of the challenge, he said: “These numbers may sound big, but they are nothing compared to the cost of inaction. These investments pay off.”
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell also emphasized the importance of reaching a new global climate finance goal in Baku. “If at least two thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” he said. “So, let’s dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every nation, including the largest and wealthiest.”
To enhance ambition, the COP29 President called for countries to submit 1.5-aligned Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce emissions ahead of next year’s deadline, submit National Adaptation Plans by 2025 to prepare for a warming world, and deliver their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR) this year.
Babayev made a strong call to action on emissions reductions, noting that “as the world’s highest forum on climate change, COP29 cannot and will not be silent on mitigation.” He announced the publication of the summary of the COP29-International Energy Agency high-level dialogues, with its calls to action to achieve a just and orderly transition.
“We have put mitigation on the agenda at all meetings ahead of COP so that we can find a way forward,” he said. “As a Presidency we are making every effort to attack the problem in every direction, without losing focus on our top negotiating priority – the NCQG.”
Concluding his remarks, Babayev stressed that as the first Paris decade comes to a close, COP29 is a “moment of truth” that “will test our commitment to the multilateral climate system. We must now demonstrate that we are prepared to meet the goals we have set ourselves.” Describing climate action as the “race of our lives”, he acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead, but noted that “we wouldn’t be setting these expectations unless we believed they were absolutely necessary.”
While highlighting how Azerbaijan was rising to the challenge of hosting the talks, Babayev noted that success would depend on everyone playing their part. “Azerbaijan can build the bridge,” he said, “but you all need to walk across it. In fact, you need to start running.”
