Ghana has secured its first issuance of jurisdictional forest carbon credits under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), a milestone that could bring roughly US$43 million in initial payments from international buyers, including the LEAF Coalition.
The announcement was made at the Ghana Pavilion during COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, where Ambassador Abdul Nasiru‑Deen read a statement on behalf of Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah‑Kofi Buah. Buah described the development as a landmark for both Ghana and Africa, following years of collaboration among government agencies, development partners, farmers, traditional authorities and forest‑fringe communities.
The 6.57 million credits represent independently verified emission reductions achieved between 2017 and 2021 through efforts to curb deforestation and forest degradation. Ghana becomes the first African country and the third jurisdiction worldwide to receive credits under ART’s The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), and the first under the standard to receive the Core Carbon Principles‑approved label in the ART Registry.
Buah clarified that the issuance confirms the credits but does not equate to payment. “Issuance is not payment. The issuance confirms the verified credits, but not the payments,” he said. The expected US$43 million would be released only after the requisite transactions and payment procedures are completed.
Dr Joseph Appiah Gyapong, Director of Climate Change at the Forestry Commission, traced Ghana’s REDD+ journey back to 2008, when systems were first established to monitor and reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. He noted that the credits are a collective outcome of multiple forest landscapes, supported by community participation and sustainable protection interventions. Verification relied on Ghana’s National Forest Monitoring System, satellite observations and independent assessment of environmental and social safeguards, governance arrangements, stakeholder participation and benefit‑sharing mechanisms.
Buah also highlighted Ghana’s experience under the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, which yielded about 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 issuance is expected to strengthen Ghana’s position in international forest carbon markets and open further opportunities to mobilise finance for forest conservation. It also underscores the importance of managing the anticipated revenue to deliver tangible benefits for the communities that helped achieve the emission reductions.
