Energy transition must not be at the expense of economic growth – Harriet Thompson

British High Commissioner to Ghana, HE Harriet Thompson, has emphasised the importance of careful consideration toward Ghana’s economic growth ahead of energy transition efforts. According to her, although Ghana stands in a good position to transition, there is a general complication for most countries seeking to transition towards renewable and sustainable energy sources. “Energy transition is always complicated particularly in a country where we need to look accessibility to energy and sustainable energy have to be factored into the transition plan. There are huge opportunities through sustainable energy to improve accessibility to energy and at the same time, we cannot see this energy transition to sustainable energy sources as being at the expense of economic growth,” she said. “There is a huge scope for both of those things in parallel and to make an advantage of that shift to renewables in order to create new jobs opportunities and economic development,” she stated. Harriet Thompson said this in an interview with GhanaWeb on the sidelines of the Ghana Green Building Summit in Accra. The annual Ghana Green Building Summit focuses on engaging stakeholders to deliberate opportunities, challenges, and solutions for Ghana's green-built environment. The aim of the summit is to reduce the negative impact of real estate projects on the environment whilst conserving natural resources. MA/ESA