Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has called for Ghana’s emerging carbon market to be structured around national development priorities, insisting that carbon finance should deliver tangible benefits to citizens rather than primarily enriching foreign consultants.
Speaking during discussions on carbon market capacity and the proposed national carbon registry, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh said carbon finance should contribute to job creation, food security, the country’s energy transition, and broader economic growth.
He argued that the success of carbon projects should be measured by their impact on the lives of Ghanaians, rather than by the volume of carbon credits generated.
“If carbon initiatives do not help address everyday development challenges in our communities, then they risk becoming an abstract exercise rather than a meaningful tool for national progress,” he said.
The Minority Chief Whip also stressed the need for Ghana to reduce its reliance on foreign technical expertise by developing a strong pool of local professionals to manage all aspects of the carbon market value chain.
To achieve this, he proposed the establishment of a National Carbon Finance Academy through a partnership involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), universities, and the private sector. The academy, he said, would train Ghanaian experts in areas such as project design, carbon accounting, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), legal contracting, Article 6 authorisations, registry management, carbon finance, and benefit-sharing mechanisms.
According to him, strengthening local capacity would ensure that a greater share of carbon finance remains within the Ghanaian economy.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh further described the proposed Ghana Carbon Registry as the foundation of the country’s carbon market, emphasising that it must be digital, transparent, secure, and capable of tracking carbon credits in real time.
He explained that the registry should accurately record the issuance, transfer, cancellation, retirement, and authorisation of carbon credits while integrating with Ghana’s greenhouse gas inventory and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) accounting framework to prevent double-counting and safeguard market integrity.
He cautioned that the absence of a credible registry could expose Ghana’s carbon market to fraud and erode investor confidence.
The Minority Chief Whip also advocated a decentralised approach to capacity building, urging government to extend training beyond Accra to district assemblies, financial institutions, civil society organisations, and local communities expected to host carbon projects.
He noted that communities must understand how carbon markets operate and how they stand to benefit, warning that excluding them could result in unfair exploitation.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh concluded that building strong local expertise, establishing a transparent carbon registry, and ensuring equitable benefits for host communities are essential for Ghana to realise the full development potential of carbon markets.
