The Bank of Ghana issued Sustainable Banking Principles with an agriculture and forestry guidance note in 2019 and a Climate-Related Financial Risk Directive in November 2024, effective for banks from 1 January 2026. The Ministry of Finance launched the first phase of a Green Finance Taxonomy in October 2024, and the SEC issued Green Bond Guidelines in March 2024. The Green Climate Fund listed 13 projects in Ghana with US$209 million in October 2026, and the cocoa forest REDD+ programme had received US$21.8 million of results payments by November 2025.
7.1
What is in force
The Ghana Sustainable Banking Principles, launched on 27 November 2019, set seven principles for banks and five sector guidance notes, one of them for agriculture and forestry12. The Climate-Related Financial Risk Directive of November 2024 requires banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions and development finance institutions to integrate climate risks into their governance, risk management and disclosure, from 1 January 2026 for banks and 1 January 2027 for the others3.
The Ministry of Finance launched Phase 1 of the Ghana Green Finance Taxonomy on 9 October 2024, with qualitative criteria for sectors including agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, and a second phase with quantitative thresholds was planned for May 2025 but not found by October 202645. The SEC's Green Bond Guidelines of 7 March 2024 list environmentally sustainable agriculture among eligible projects6. No green, social or sustainability bond issued in Ghana was confirmed in official sources. The Environmental Protection Act, 2025 provides for a Ghana Carbon Registry, and the first transfer of 11,733 tCO2e of mitigation outcomes to Switzerland took place on 7 July 202578.
Building the green-finance framework
Mar 2018
GCF approves the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (five countries)9Finance
Apr 2019
SEC Commodity Exchange and Warehouse Receipts Guidelines1011Market
GCF approves a cocoa and coffee securities fund tranche (US$56 m, ten countries)16Finance
Environmental Protection Act, 2025Act 1124Assented 6 Jan 2025, Gazette notification 6 Jan 2025
The Act establishes the Environmental Protection Authority and, in Part Five, provides for climate change responses, the Ghana Carbon Registry (section 150), a Carbon Market Committee and a Mitigation Fund7. The Carbon Market Office transferred the first 11,733 tCO2e of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes to Switzerland in July 202517.
Recent changes: Section 171 repeals the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490) and the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917)718.
Ghana Sustainable Banking Principles and Sector Guidance NotesBank of Ghana, November 2019Launched 27 Nov 2019
Seven principles, including environmental and social risk management and financial inclusion, and five sector guidance notes, one of them for agriculture and forestry, developed with the banks and the Environmental Protection Agency12.
Climate-Related Financial Risk DirectiveBank of Ghana, November 2024Effective 1 Jan 2026 for banks, 1 Jan 2027 for other institutions
The directive requires banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions, development finance institutions and other regulated institutions to integrate climate-related risks into governance, risk management and disclosure3.
Ghana Green Finance Taxonomy, Phase 1Ministry of Finance, October 2024Launched 9 Oct 2024
The taxonomy sets qualitative screening criteria for green activities in selected sectors, including agriculture, forestry and aquaculture54. A second phase with quantitative thresholds was planned for May 2025 but had not been found by October 20265.
Securities Industry (Green Bond) Guidelines, 2024SEC/GUI/003/03/2024Issued 7 Mar 2024, effective immediately
The guidelines govern green bonds on the Ghanaian capital market, and their list of eligible projects includes environmentally sustainable agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery6.
The policy sets objectives of effective adaptation, social development and mitigation, and its Focus Area 1 is to develop climate-resilient agriculture and food security19.
Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (2020–2030)Submitted to the UNFCCC, 20212021
The NDC sets 47 programmes of action and emission reductions of 64 MtCO2e by 2030, of which 24.6 MtCO2e unconditional, in energy, industrial processes, land use and forestry and waste, excluding agriculture20. The first NDC's implementation plan of March 2019 had targeted 17% below a business-as-usual level of 73.3 million tonnes by 203021.
Ghana National Adaptation Plan 2025Submitted to the UNFCCC, posted 10 Apr 20262025
The plan prioritises agriculture, health, infrastructure, biodiversity and cities, and estimates adaptation costs of US$22.6 billion for 2025–2030, of which US$4.1 billion for agriculture2223.
Green Climate Fund projects with agriculture or land use in Ghana
GCF financing, US$ million, by project
GCF financing (US$ m)
FP183 IGREENFIN I (13 countries)
116.9
FP265 Northern Ghana landscapes
63.2
FP293 Cocoa and coffee tranche (10 countries)
56
FP252 Acumen fund II (7 countries)
34
FP137 Shea landscape
30.1
FP078 Acumen fund (5 countries)
26
FP114 AFAWA Ghana
20
Source: GCF — Multi-country amounts are for the whole project, not for Ghana alone. Approval dates range from March 2018 (FP078) to March 2026 (FP293).
NDC emission reduction targets
Reductions against the baseline, MtCO2e, updated NDC of 2021
Unconditional (MtCO2e)
Conditional on support (MtCO2e)
2025
8.5
16.7
2030
24.6
39.4
Source: UNFCCC — The reductions cover energy, industrial processes, land use and forestry and waste. Agriculture emissions are excluded from the targets.
Results payments received under the cocoa forest REDD+ programme
Cumulative payments and emission reductions as % of the agreement ceiling, to 30 November 2025
Closer to the ceilingFurther from the ceiling100% = agreement ceiling
Payments (US$21.76 m of US$50 m)
43.5%
Emission reductions (4.35 Mt of 10 Mt)
43.5%
Source: World Bank — Own calculations. The agreement closes on 30 December 2027.
Green Climate Fund projects with agriculture or land use in Ghana
Project
Accredited entity
Approved
GCF (US$ m)
Total (US$ m)
FP078 Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (5 countries)
Acumen
1 Mar 2018
26.0
56
FP114 AFAWA, climate-resilient agriculture in Ghana
Source: World Bank — FCPF Carbon Fund, World Bank project P160339, implemented by the Forestry Commission.
7.2
What it means for agricultural lenders
A sector note for agriculture since 2019
The agriculture and forestry guidance note of the Sustainable Banking Principles covers crop and livestock farming, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry1.
Climate risk in bank supervision from 2026
The 2024 directive applies to banks from 1 January 2026. At the end of 2025 agriculture held 4.3% of bank credit and had a non-performing loan ratio of 46.3%33031.
Climate funds working through intermediaries
GCF projects in Ghana include an AfDB financing line for climate-resilient agriculture (US$20 million) and multi-country funds managed by Acumen and Clarmondial122716.
Large adaptation needs
The National Adaptation Plan estimates adaptation costs of US$22.6 billion for 2025–2030, against climate finance flows of about US$830 million a year in 2019–202022.
AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
