The Ghana Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) Network, under the auspices of the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, KNUST, has called for deeper collaboration with stakeholders to drive Ghana’s net zero emission agenda. This call was made during its ongoing annual workshop held at the Fiesta Royale Hotel in Accra.

Delivering the welcome address, Professor David Ato Quansah, Director of the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, underscored the urgency of Africa’s energy transition.

“We are in the energy sector that is currently in transition. This transition is one of a different kind, one that is necessitated by urgent situations. We look at the realities that we live in Africa. We have about six hundred million people that don’t have access to electricity, these are the realities that confront us,” he said.

He emphasized the need for sustained efforts to expand access to deprived areas, reflecting on the pioneering work of Professor Abeeku Brew-Hammond, founder of the Energy Centre, in promoting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Our task is to reflect on the way forward and propose actionable solutions. Our task is to leverage expertise in the university ecosystem to address energy sector challenges. We have been doing this for the past 15 years and there is so much more that can be done,” he said, adding that fruitful collaboration with partners remained critical.

Representing the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Dr. Robert Sogbadji, commended the CCG team for championing sustainable energy development.

“As part of our energy transition framework and the broader Ghana Big Push agenda, we are charting a pathway that combines energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability,” he said.

Highlighting the potential of green hydrogen, Dr. Sogbadji stressed its role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors and positioning Ghana as a hub for clean energy in Africa.

“Green hydrogen is emerging as a strategic enabler for this transition, with the potential of decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors and creating new value chains. The position of Ghana as a hub for clean energy is inevitable, and we are striving to make sure that we have that significant signature in Ghana to influence the clean energy aspects in Africa,” he said.

He further disclosed that the Ministry had initiated technical studies and stakeholder engagement to assess Ghana’s green hydrogen potential in alignment with its Paris Agreement commitments to achieve net zero by 2070.

Dr. Lara Allen of the Centre for Global Equity and University of Cambridge, stressed the importance of evidence-based research.

“The point is to work together and to support Ghana’s energy transition. To do that we want evidence-based research so that decision makers can have all the proper data available. That is our job, to provide the data for the decision makers to make the decision,” she explained.

Nana Frimpomaa Arhin, Green Economic Transformation Team, British High Commission stressed the importance of innovation-driven partnerships.

“Climate is underpinned by innovation and partnership. Modern partnership is about a partnership between a number of people that have incentive for change who use research and innovation to drive that change,” she said.

She further emphasized the role of research in shaping action:

“I am a believer that research must make action. We must make this connection between research, government, private sector and civil society really work.”

The workshop also featured a series of plenary sessions and presentations on diverse themes, including Prof. Joseph Akowuah’s highlights of Special Interest Group activities, Prof. David Ato Quansah’s presentation on building towards a just energy transition, and Gerald Arhin’s discussion of CCG’s Political Economy Unit toolkit.

In addition, Dr. Yen Sokama-Neuyam spoke on Ghana’s emission tracking and reduction, while Mark Amoah Nyasapor from the Ghana Atomic Commission presented on nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and renewable hybrid energy systems for sustainable energy development.

 Dr Chinagorom Ajike, the Country Programme Manager, CCG, set the tone for the breakout sessions which focused on the 5 special interest groups.

The two-day event, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)  brought together academia, policymakers, private sector leaders, and international partners, setting the stage for collaborative efforts toward Ghana’s decarbonization and sustainable energy future.