Ghana has secured its first issuance of jurisdictional forest carbon credits under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), with the transaction expected to trigger initial payments of approximately US$43 million from international buyers.

The issuance of 6.57 million credits marks a milestone in the country’s efforts to attract climate finance through forest conservation and makes Ghana the first African country and the third jurisdiction globally to receive credits under ART’s The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES).

The announcement was made at the Ghana Pavilion during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, where Ghana’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Abdul Nasiru-Deen, read a statement on behalf of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.

The credits represent independently verified emission reductions achieved between 2017 and 2021 through efforts to curb deforestation and forest degradation. They are also the first credits issued under TREES to receive the Core Carbon Principles-approved label in the ART Registry.

In the statement, Mr Buah said the issuance was expected to trigger initial payments of about US$43 million, linked to the anticipated purchase of approximately four million tonnes of verified emission reductions at prices ranging from US$10 to US$13 per tonne.

He, however, cautioned that the issuance did not mean the country had received the money, as payment would depend on the completion of the relevant transactions and requirements.

“Issuance is not payment. The issuance confirms the verified credits, but not the payments,” the statement said.

Mr Buah said Ghana would have to ensure that proceeds from the transactions support forest protection and improve the livelihoods of communities whose participation contributed to the emission reductions.

The Minister described the development as a landmark achievement following years of preparation and collaboration involving government institutions, development partners, farmers, traditional authorities and communities living around forest areas.

Providing details of the process, Director of Climate Change at the Forestry Commission, Dr Joseph Appiah Gyapong, said Ghana’s preparations for REDD+ began in 2008, when the country started building systems to monitor and reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

He said the credits reflected collective efforts across participating forest landscapes rather than the work of a single project.

Ghana used its National Forest Monitoring System, satellite observations and independent verification to measure the emission reductions achieved during the reporting period.

“The credits do not represent the carbon stored in Ghana’s forests. They represent verified emission reductions against established benchmarks,” Dr Gyapong explained.

He said the verification also examined the country’s environmental and social safeguards, governance arrangements, stakeholder participation and benefit-sharing systems.

Ghana’s experience includes the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, through which it received approximately US$21.8 million in Forest Carbon Partnership Facility payments in 2023 and 2024.

Those funds supported forest protection, landscape restoration, farming inputs, boreholes, community health infrastructure and education.

The statement acknowledged the contributions of farmers, forest-fringe communities, traditional authorities and development partners, including the United Kingdom and Norway, whose support helped advance Ghana’s participation in the LEAF Coalition.

The latest issuance is expected to strengthen Ghana’s position in international forest carbon markets and open further opportunities to mobilise funding for conservation. The management of the anticipated proceeds and their distribution to communities involved in protecting forest resources will be central to delivering the benefits of the programme.

Ghana secures first forest carbon credit issuance, with US$43m in expected payments

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