Deputy Finance Minister Calls for Private Capital to Fund Climate Investment
The Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has advised stakeholders to explore innovative ways of mobilising private capital to complement public financing in addressing Ghana’s growing climate investment needs.
According to him, Ghana can no longer rely solely on public financing to meet the scale of investment required to address climate change and support sustainable economic development.
Speaking at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Dialogue for West and Central Africa in Accra, he said the four-day dialogue is bringing together government representatives, accredited entities and other regional stakeholders to discuss climate finance access and investment opportunities.
He stated that “Public finance cannot carry this agenda alone,” noting that government already had to finance sectors including education, healthcare, infrastructure, social protection and economic transformation within limited fiscal space.
Mr Ampem said the national budget should not be the only engine driving climate investment, but the need for public resources to be used to unlock private capital and also focus on our task to use public resources to bring other engines on board.
“This required a shift from simply financing projects to mobilising capital, with public and concessional resources deployed to prepare bankable projects, reduce investment risks, improve commercial viability and provide appropriate guarantees to attract private investors,” he added.
The Deputy Minister mentioned that Ghana must focus not only on the amount of climate finance secured but also on the additional investment that could be generated from such resources.
“We must also ask how much additional investment can every dollar or cedi of climate finance mobilise?” describing the approach as a necessary shift “from disbursement to mobilisation, from expenditure to investment, and from climate finance to development finance,” he said.
Mr Ampem disclosed that Ghana’s GCF portfolio currently comprised 13 projects with approximately US$209 million in GCF financing, alongside about US$5.7 million in approved readiness support.
The Director of the Africa Region at the GCF, Catherine Koffman, praised Ghana’s leadership and framed climate finance as integral to the continent’s economic transformation, rather than a standalone environmental concern.
According to her, under the country’s leadership, Ghana has taken concrete steps to embed climate finance as a strategic pillar of its economic transformation agenda.
Madam Koffman cited the revised Climate Prosperity Plan and the Climate-Resilient Investment Platform as evidence that Ghana is building the institutional and economic architecture required to mobilise public, private, and catalytic capital at scale.
She noted that the GCF has committed more than US$20 billion globally, with Africa receiving close to 40%, including US$2.9 billion committed to West and Central Africa through 80 projects and programmes, reaching millions of people.
She called on contributors, development partners and financial institutions to deliver an ambitious outcome equal to both the challenge and the opportunity.
Freda Marfo, ISD
