Ghana requires an estimated US$9.5 billion every year to implement its circular economy and waste management agenda, according to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.
Speaking at the Climate Forward Summit held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Development Planning Officer Juliet Nortey said inadequate financing and limited technical capacity remain the biggest barriers to the country’s transition to a greener economy.
Addressing a panel on “Governing the Green Transition: Policy, Finance, People and Technology for Ghana’s Circular Industrial Future,” Nortey acknowledged that although Ghana has developed strong environmental policies, their implementation continues to lag.
“We have very brilliant policies, but the greatest challenge is implementation. Implementation is always a challenge, and certain things are helpful. The first challenge is finance. For the economy to do well, we need money,” she said.
She explained that Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including the draft NDC 2.0, contain key provisions on circularity and waste management, but achieving those targets will require significant investment.
“If you look at our previous NDCs and our current NDC 2.0, which we are currently drafting, they contain components that capture circularity and waste management. We need about US$9.5 billion per year to achieve this target,” she stated.
Nortey also highlighted capacity constraints, particularly at the district and community levels, saying many officials responsible for implementing environmental policies lack the technical expertise needed to translate policy into action.
“The second challenge has to do with capacity. Most of our experts, particularly at the sub-national and community levels, lack the capacity needed to implement these policies effectively,” she added.
Also speaking at the summit, Senior Sustainability Officer at the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Gloria Boamah Kusi, called for greater public participation in tackling Ghana’s waste management challenges.
She stressed that environmental protection is a shared responsibility and urged citizens to complement government efforts by reporting indiscriminate waste disposal and poor sanitation practices.
“The implementation is not for the government alone, and it is not for the private sector alone. Let us start with ourselves. The government will bring the policy, but don’t sit aloof and watch the government implement it,” she said.
Dr Kusi encouraged Ghanaians to use social media platforms to expose illegal dumping and growing waste heaps before they lead to environmental disasters.
“We should not wait for disaster before we start putting all of this on TikTok. It is really disheartening,” she noted.
Research Associate at the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Maria-Ancilla Bombande, also called for a collaborative approach to implementing environmental policies.
She urged households to adopt responsible waste disposal practices while encouraging government agencies to strengthen enforcement measures.
Bombande further appealed to researchers to simplify their findings and present them in accessible formats on platforms such as TikTok and LinkedIn to improve public understanding and encourage wider participation in Ghana’s green transition.
