Expedite work on Bioenergy legislation to enhance national development – GHACCO

The Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels (GHACCO) has called on the Government to expedite action on the draft Bioenergy Legislation to support the country’s drive towards achieving climate resilience and sustainable development.

The Alliance made the call at a stakeholders’ workshop to advocate for action on the legislation due to its importance to bioenergy development for the country.

The workshop was under the auspices of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund with support from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), the European Union and the Ghana Government.

Representatives from GHACCO, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Solutions, University of Ghana, Bioenergy and Biogas associations, and the Clean Cookstoves manufacturers participated.

Lovans Owusu-Takyi, the Vice Board Chairman of GHACCO, who opened the workshop, said the bioenergy legislation would address climate change, deforestation, energy access, waste management and enhance food security.

He said bioenergy production required national attention because it promoted sustainable woodlots, investment in energy crops such as palmoil, coconut, corn, and cassava, and efficient woodfuel convention and utilisation technologies such as kilns and clean cooking technologies.

Mr Owusu-Takyi said investing in sustainable ethanol production, biofuels and biogas could be beneficial for clean cooking, clean transportation, sustainable waste management and electricity generation, which could go a long way to contribute to Ghana’s socio-economic development.

The Vice Chairman called for inter-university research platform through media engagements, technology fairs, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies level engagements, and promotional activities to bring research and interventions in bioenergy technologies to the door-steps of the people.

Lukmana Mohamed, called for more incentives to private sector actors to enable them to develop bioenergy technologies and products since over 70 per cent of primary energy in Ghana came from bioenergy resources while 73 per cent of the people relied on bioenergy for heating and lighting.

Gloria Boafo of the CSIR called for investment in research and technology development in the bioenergy sector.