As Ghana intensifies its efforts to combat climate change, one key greenhouse gas often overlooked is methane. Sources of methane emissions in the country include agriculture, waste management, and the oil and gas sector. A highly potent contributor to global warming, methane has recently gained attention as a critical factor in climate change.

Greener Impact International, in collaboration with partners, has launched a campaign to address methane emissions in the country. The initiative calls for the involvement of various stakeholders, including government agencies, industries, and civil society, to implement sustainable practices that mitigate the environmental impact of methane.

During the launch, Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Director of the Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Department at the Environmental Protection Agency, highlighted the dangers of methane to public health. "If methane is inhaled by a person and enters the bloodstream, it can cause dizziness, lead to a coma, or even cause cardiac arrest by blocking the free flow of oxygen," Dr. Amoah explained. He emphasized the urgent need for government intervention to reduce methane emissions.

Methane, a gas with 28 to 34 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, is a significant driver of climate change. Its reduction is crucial to meeting global climate targets, including those outlined in the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

The campaign by Greener Impact International aligns with the Global Methane Pledge and Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets. Outlining the campaign objectives, Mr. Mawuenana Evamenam Gokah, the Programs Director at Greener Impact International, emphasized that the campaign not only aims to reduce methane emissions but also seeks to protect our planet, promote sustainability, and enhance the well-being of all people in Ghana.

Mr. Timothy Apeanti, the Campaign Coordinator informed participants that the campaign will also be implemented in the Madina La-Nkwantanang and Nsawam Adoagyiri districts to mobilize local actors to develop strategies for reducing methane emissions from markets, schools. And households

The project is being implemented by Greener Impact International in collaboration with KASA Initiative Ghana, HATOF Foundation, Green African Youth Organization (GAYO), and the Institute of Sustainable Energy Solutions (ISEES) and the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) with funding from the Clean Air Task Force (CATF).