Ghana ranked the 9th highest producer of carbon emissions in Africa
With a production capacity of 21,312,802 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Ghana has been ranked the ninth (9th) highest producer of carbon emissions on the African Continent according to the 2022 Global Carbon Budget.
Ghana’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita according to the Global Carbon Budget is 0.65.
Per the ranking, Sudan with CO2 emissions per capita of 0.46 is the least producer of carbon dioxide emissions (21,038,216 tonnes) on the Continent.
South Africa topped the ranking with 435,928,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and CO2 per capita of 7.34.
The continent’s largest economy – Nigeria – was the third highest producer with 136,986,780 tonnes of carbon emissions and CO2 per capita of 0.64.
| Rank | Country | CO2 emissions (tonnes) | C02 emissions (per capita) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 435,928,900 | 7.34 |
| 2 | Egypt | 249,624,140 | 2.28 |
| 3 | Algeria | 176,269,070 | 3.99 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 136,986,780 | 0.64 |
| 5 | Libya | 74,525,080 | 11.06 |
| 6 | Morocco | 70,577,660 | 1.90 |
| 7 | Tunisia | 31,582,746 | 2.58 |
| 8 | Angola | 21,362,716 | 0.62 |
| 9 | Ghana | 21,312,802 | 0.65 |
| 10 | Sudan | 21,038,216 | 0.46 |
Despite being the continent that has contributed the least to global warming and has the lowest emissions, Africa stands as the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change.
The continent is experiencing severe climate-related challenges, including intense droughts, water scarcity, rising sea levels, flooding, catastrophic storms, and a decline in biodiversity.
Earlier this month, African leaders and delegates met in Nairobi, Kenya for the continent’s inaugural climate summit to cover critical climate issues facing African nations, as well as climate finance solutions and green growth across the continent of about 1.4 billion people.
On an independent level, almost all African countries are a signatory to the Paris Agreement in 2015. Many of them have established net zero targets as part of their commitment to decarbonize their economies.
Making up approximately 17 per cent of the world’s population, Africa is responsible for just four per cent of the planet’s total carbon emissions, amounting to 1.45 billion tonnes.
In contrast, countries like China emit a significant 11.47 billion tonnes of carbon, while the United States contributes 5 billion tonnes to global emissions.
More than 60 per cent of Africa’s carbon emissions are attributed to just three countries: South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
