Accra Metropolitan Assembly targets 30% methane reduction by 2030

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) have convened a high-level roundtable to address the urgent need for climate finance to meet the city's methane reduction goals. The meeting focused on Accra’s plan to slash methane emissions from the waste sector by at least 30% by 2030. This target is a core component of Ghana’s broader commitment to the Global Methane Pledge, which seeks to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases on a global scale. Officials from the AMA expressed concerns during the Accra LOW-M Climate Finance Roundtable that the 2030 target could be missed without immediate and substantial financial intervention. Key elements of the city's climate action plan remain unfunded, hindering the transition from traditional waste disposal to more sustainable methods. The assembly emphasized that achieving the reduction depends heavily on improving waste separation at the source. By separating organic materials, the city aims to scale up composting and biogas production, significantly reducing the amount of methane-generating waste ending up in landfills. The event, co-organized with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and C40 Cities, sought to create a unified front between government institutions, international funders, and informal waste workers. Participants worked toward establishing a responsibility matrix and a project pipeline for future funding. By aligning these various groups, the AMA hopes to formalize the role of informal waste workers, who are often the frontline actors in collection and recycling efforts. Looking ahead, the stakeholders aim to produce an action plan and a commitment tracker to monitor progress toward the 30% goal. While the challenge of funding remains significant, the roundtable marked a critical step in coordinating institutional support and ensuring that Ghana’s environmental commitments are backed by actionable, localized strategies in the nation's capital.