By Nicholas Osei Wusu
Government is to import and introduce battery vehicles for public transportation very soon. Also, feasibility study has already been completed in the Ashanti region for an inter-city light rail transportation system as part of plans for Ghana’s transition from the reliance on fossil fuel as a contributor to carbon emission and global warming into a green environment as being championed globally.
The Deputy Minister for Transport, Frederick Obeng, disclosed this in Kumasi during a public forum.
The Kumasi forum is one of regional consultative platforms being organized by the Ministry of Energy to collate the views of key stakeholders for the development of a National Energy Transition Plan.
The Policy document will then help Ghana to successfully shift the paradigm from over reliance on crude oil products considered as a major contributor to global warming or climate change.
In Ghana, apart from the use of oil products for industrial purposes, records at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, DVLA show that in 2021 alone, out of the over two point-eight million vehicles registered, 72% were petrol engines with 27% percent depending on diesel while the remaining 1% use gas.
Participants at the Kumasi forum were from civil society organizations, Municipal and District Assemblies, professional groupings, NGOs among others.
There was also a panel discussion involving experts from the NPA, EPA and the Forestry Commission, to break down key issues of climate change, causes and how a paradigm shift could salvage the rising atmospheric temperature.
The Oforikrom Municipal Chief Executive, Abraham Antwi, who represented the Ashanti Regional Minister, emphasized that energy ”is a crucial element in the lives of individuals and the economy”.
The Deputy Minister for Transport, Frederick Obeng, said transportation also contributes substantially to carbon emission as the main cause of climate change.
As part of his ministry’s contribution towards the national Energy Transition Policy, steps are being taken to ensure a Zero deep sea shipping emission by 2030, while plans are in place to introduce non fossil fuel transportation systems into the public stream soon.
A Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Anta, said despite the government trying to shift from reliance on crude oil to other cleaner energy sources, emphasis will be placed on natural gas, which even the European Commission has endorsed as a cleaner energy.
Some of the participants expressed satisfaction with the decision of the government to transition Ghana from crude oil dependent economy to alternative energy sources.
