Climate action must support Ghana’s Reset Agenda and industrial transformation, create new economic opportunities, and strengthen long-term energy security, Baba Seidu Issifu, the Minister of State in charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, has stated.

“It must power development rather than slow it down,” Mr Baba Seidu Issifu, the Minister of State in-charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, said this when he unveiled work done by his outfit at the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency in Accra.

The Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability was established under the Office of the President to provide high-level leadership and coordination for Ghana’s climate agenda.

Its mandate is to coordinate national climate action, mobilise international partnerships, attract climate finance and ensure Ghana’s transition toward a resilient and sustainable economy.

With regards to challenges, the Minister said they were also candid about the challenges ahead.

He said there was still limited technical capacity in carbon markets, particularly in areas such as project development, measurement, reporting and verification systems, and regulatory frameworks.

This, he said constrained Ghana’s ability to fully participate in and benefit from emerging carbon market opportunities.

He noted that they continued to face slow and complex accreditation processes for accessing major climate finance mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.

Mr Issifu said these processes required significant institutional readiness, compliance systems, and technical documentation, which could delay access to much-needed financing.

He said thirdly, there was growing global donor fatigue, with declining levels of grant-based climate finance and increasing competition among countries for limited concessional resources.

He reiterated that this places additional pressure on countries like Ghana to position themselves more strategically and competitively.

He said there remained a heavy reliance on loan-based climate finance, which raised concerns around debt sustainability and fiscal pressure.

The Minister said for climate-vulnerable countries, there was a strong need to shift toward more grant-based and concessional financing instruments.

Mr. Issifuu said these realities underscored the urgency of reform and innovation, adding that they reinforced the need to build stronger institutions, develop new financing models, and position Ghana to not only access climate finance, but to deploy it effectively in support of national development.

Touching on the way forward, Mr Issifu said over the past year, the office had focused on building the architecture, governance systems, partnerships, and investment pipelines required to advance Ghana’s climate agenda and strengthen our global credibility.

He noted that the year ahead promised to deliver on the foundations laid.

“Looking ahead, our priorities include working to increase the volume of funded programmes and projects. Advancing the accreditation of national entities to access climate funds.”

It also includes supporting the scale-up of renewable energy and climate-resilient infrastructure, intensifying the development pipeline of bankable climate projects and seepening Ghana’s carbon market participation.

“Our long-term objective is to position Ghana as a regional leader in climate resilience, sustainable industrialisation, and climate-smart investment,” Mr Issifu said.

“Climate action is not charity. It is a strategy. It is an investment in Ghana’s future stability, resilience, and prosperity,” he added.

He said the Office remained committed to ensuring that Ghana was not simply a recipient of climate support, but a proactive partner shaping solutions and advancing sustainable development.