Civil Society Organizations in the energy sector have proposed that the government allocate petroleum revenue to support investments in renewable energy.
They argue that this would accelerate the energy transition and boost the share of renewables in the power generation mix.
During a media briefing, Dr. Steve Manteaw, Chairman of the Ghana Extractive Transparency Initiative, stressed the importance of involving the youth in green projects to provide them with employment opportunities.
“We have never, in the almost fifteen years of oil production, prioritized renewable energy for spending petroleum revenues even though it’s one of the categories spelled out in the law. I want to plead with the government but also urge the public interest and accountability committee, which is the agency that we’ve created to mediate on behalf of civil society, to constantly remind the government of the need to prioritize the renewable sector for the expenditure of petroleum revenues.”
“It is the strategy of the big companies. They are using the benefits they are deriving from the extraction of fossil fuel today to finance investments in renewable energy technology. Shell is doing that.
Total is doing that and all that. How much more for a poor country that cannot finance renewable energy investments from its tax collections?”
