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Ghana first African country to trade carbon credits — Level B1 — a person cooking food on a grill

Ghana first African country to trade carbon creditsCEFR B1

9 Jul 2025

Adapted from Albert Oppong-Ansah, SciDev CC BY 2.0

Photo by Emmanuel Offei, Unsplash

Level B1 – Intermediate
4 min
198 words

Ghana transferred 11,733 tonnes of verified emission reductions to Switzerland on Tuesday (8 July), the Ghana Carbon Market Office said. Daniel Tutu Benefor of the CMO said Ghana is the first African country and only the second in the world to complete a transaction under Article 6.2, and he described the transfer as the largest in the world. Under Article 6.2 countries convert emissions cuts into Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) and trade them; buyer countries often provide investment, capacity building or technology in return.

The emissions came from the Transformative Cookstove Activity in Rural Ghana, a programme run by Envirofit and the ACT Group with support from the KliK Foundation. Envirofit says the programme has reached more than 180,000 households, cut fuel costs by over 50 per cent, reduced indoor air pollution, created nearly 300 jobs and supported sales through village savings groups.

Users gave practical examples: a mother near Tumu said the stove halved her charcoal spending and saved nearly two hours of cooking time each day; a school cook said ash and smoke no longer cause eye irritation or headaches. The CMO has received many project submissions and launched youth training to develop local skills.

Difficult words

  • transferto move something from one place to another
    transferred
  • emissiongas or particle released into the air
    emissions
  • transactiona business or legal exchange between two parties
  • programmeplanned set of activities to achieve goals
  • householdpeople who live together in one home
    households
  • reducemake something smaller in amount or size
    reduced
  • capacityability or skill to do a particular task

Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.

Discussion questions

  • How could reduced fuel costs affect daily life for families in rural areas?
  • Would you support a national programme to buy and trade emissions? Why or why not?
  • Why are youth training and local skills important for projects like the cookstove activity?

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