Climate change in Ghana

**Climate change for Ghana insyd** dey impact de people insyd Ghana for several ways as de country dey tap for de connection of de three hydro-climatic zones top. Changes insyd rainfall, weather conditions den sea-level rise go affect de salt wey dey de coastal waters insyd. Dem dey expect say dis go affect both farming den fisheries. Low rainfall, drought den wild fires sanso be sam major effects wey dem associate plus climate change insyd Ghana.

De national economy dey stand make e suffer from de impacts of climate change secof ein dependence for climate-sensitive sectors top such as agriculture, energy, den forestry. Moreova, dem dey expect make access to freshwater make e cam turn more challenging while reduced water supply go have negative impact for hydropower top, wich dey provide 54% of de country ein electricity capacity. Additionally, Ghana go likely see more cases of malaria den cholera since changes insyd water conditions dey impact both. Stagnant water bodies wich dem form as result of sam flooding occurrences, fi support de breeding of more mosquitoes wich go eventually cause de increase insyd de spread of malaria.

Insyd 2015, de government produce document dem title "Ghana's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution". Dey follow dat, Ghana sign de Paris Climate Agreement insyd 2016. De Intended Nationally Determined Contribution after 2016 cam turn de Nationally Determined Contributions dem commonly refer to as NDCs, wich na dem review insyd 2021.

2023 report by de USDA Foreign Agricultural Service note say Ghana "be vulnerable to rising sea levels, droughts, increasing temperatures, den unpredictable rainfall wich negatively dey impact infrastructure, hydropower production, food security, den coastal den agricultural livelihoods".

## Greenhouse gas emissions
Insyd 2021, Ghana ein total CO2 emissions from fuel combustion insyd de energy sector reach 21.397 million tonnes, dey highlight significant increase of 332% insyd per-capita emissions since 2000. Despite dem dey represent 0.1% per of global emissions from inflammable fuels, dis rise dey concern, particularly for international efforts insyd make dem mitigate climate change impacts. West Africa be among de smallest contributors to global  greenhouse gas emissions, buh de nations "dey already dey feel de effects of de climate catastrophe disproportionately".

Na de primary source of dese emissions for Ghana insyd be oil burning, wich account for 66% of de total CO2 emissions from fuel burning. Sector-wise, transportation emerge as de largest contributor, responsible for 47% of de nation ein energy-related CO2 emissions, follow by electricity den heat production for 34%. Dese figures dey underscore de urgent need for Ghana make e transition towards more sustainable energy sources den improve de efficiency of ein transportation den power sectors.

### Fossil fuel production
De Jubilee offshore oil field insyd de Western Region of Ghana begin production for 2010 insyd, dey raise expectations for wealth creation insyd Ghana. Howeva, de infrastructure dem need make dem take support Ghana ein oil industry (storage, shipping, processing) necessitate de practice of flaring. "Long-term gas flaring for de Jubilee Field fi be inevitable" widout accelerated development of infrastructure wey go produce about 1.5 million tons of CO2 annually (7 percent of Ghana ein total national emissions).

Ghana ein petrol matter dey go up small small, especially since we find oil plenty for Jubilee field for 2007. But de oil we dey pump out everyday dey reduce small small. Like September 2021, we dey pump about 176,000 barrels everyday.

Some big oil, gas work dey done by international oil companies like Tullow Ghana, Vitol, Kosmos Energy, ENI plus others. Their sub-contractors na Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Weatherford, Ocean Rig den Technip FMC plus others. Di sector don get investment wahala, like di one between Springfield Group den ENI/Vitol.

Upstream activities for Ghana petroleum sector include procurement den refining of crude oil by di only petroleum refinery, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). Downstream activities include marketing plus distribution of petroleum products by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) plus pre-mixing of petroleum products for other industrial uses. OMCs wey dey operate for Ghana na mainly multinationals, but for last ten years, dem don see rise of small plus medium local OMCs.

De Ghana National Petroleum Council (GNPC) get mandate to explore for oil insyde de country territory. Ghana oil plus gas prospects dey important. Recent discoveries show say oil plus gas resources stretch from Cape Three Points for west den reach Keta for east. Volta Basin dey also believe to hold oil plus gas reserves onshore. Government of Ghana through GNPC dey try make maximum use of country prospects for oil plus gas sector den extend country continental shelf to increase sector scope.

De prices of petroleum products dey regulate by independent board. Country dey consume plenty petroleum products, wey dem de mainly import. Petroleum products wey dem dey produce for Ghana dey mainly export.

## Climate Change Institutions insyd Ghana
One of de few important climate change institutions insyd Ghana be de Center for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies. De center dey locate insyd de University of Ghana wey edey involve for conducting various research works den projects plus regards to climate change for Ghana insyd. E sanso be multidisciplinary faculty wich dey explore areas such as health, resource management, economics den renewable energy. All of dese research areas dem venture into dem dey target towards capacity building for climate change den sustainable development insyd.

## Impacts for the natural environment top

### Temperature and weather changes
Lake Volta, be de biggest artificial lake for de world when you look surface area, e  change how de weather dey behave for Ghana. De north part  dry get warm pass the south Ghana. As a whole, Ghana  get temperature increase of 1.0 °C since 1960. For Northern Ghana, dem get only one rainy season, but for southern Ghana, dem get two seasons, aden how rain dey fall each year dey change well well. E be hard to tell how de rain go be for long time. But for 2011, USDA Forest Service talk say dem no see proof say heavy rain events  increase or reduce since 1960. But if you look the Köppen-Geiger climate map  insyde for 1980–2016 de the one wey dem predict for 2071–2100, some part wey near the coast go change from "tropical, savannah" to "arid, steppe, hot".

But if you compare de Köppen-Geiger climate classification map for 1980–2016 with the one weh dem predict for 2071–2100, some coastal areas go change from "tropical, savannah" to "dry, steppe, hot".

### Sea level rise

Available data dey show say sea level dey rise 2.1 mm per year for de last 30 years, wey indicate surge of 5.8 cm, 16.5 cm den 34.5 cm by 2020, 2050, 2080. Flooding dey affect about '45,000 Ghanaians every year, plus half of Ghana coastline dey vulnerable to erosion plus flooding because of sea-level rise'.

##### Water resources
Expected decrease for water for main river basins wey dey provide fresh water for country, Volta River, Bia River den Tano River, fit make access to clean drinking water hard. Volume of water for Volta Basin dey predicted to reduce by 24% plus 45% for 2050 den 2100, respectively. Continuous decrease of rain plus increase evaporation fit cause political tension for region as Burkina Faso dey plan to draw water from Volta Basin.

## Impacts on people

### Economic impacts

##### Agriculture

Forty-five percent of workforce for Ghana dey depend on small-holder rain-fed agriculture. Erratic rain plus other extreme weather dey disrupt people economic well-being. Also, staple crops like cassava, maize den cocoa, di major cash crop for Ghana, dey get reduced production. Based on 20-year baseline climate observation, e dey forecast say maize plus other cereal crop yield dey reduce by 7% by 2050.

Also, combination of deforestation plus new dams wey dey dry rivers dey affect agriculture, den dey cause people to migrate to Accra, wey dey increase poor-quality unplanned settlements for areas wey fit get flash floods.

A 2024 World Bank report dey estimate say about two million Ghanaians dey vulnerable to food insecurity. If any natural disaster happen, food availability dey significantly affect, especially for Northern region plus country rural areas.

##### Fisheries
Seafood dey make up 40–60 percent of protein intake for Ghana. Key species for economy dey expected to get worse reproduction cycles. Reduction for fisheries production dey make country dey import more than $200 million per year worth of seafood. Climate change alone fit endanger important food source plus way of life for Ghana by reducing possible fish catches by 25 percent or more by 2050.

##### Hydropower
Because 54% of national generation capacity dey hydropower, unpredictable rain fit add uncertainty to power grid wey dey already get frequent outages (dem dey call am dumsor). Some estimates dey suggest say capacity fit fall by as much as 50% for Volta Basin. Ghana dey experience reduction for GDP between 2012 den 2015 as response to deficient power supply.

## References