Ghana’s ability to adapt to worsening climate impacts is being severely undermined by weak public financial management systems, fragmented policies and a growing accountability deficit, according to IMANI Africa.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement themed “Enhancing Governance and Accountability for Climate Adaptation & Energy Transition in Ghana’s Mining Industry,” Senior Research Associate Dennis Asare cautioned that climate funds arriving in the country risk suffering the same fate as other public resources lost through inefficiencies, mismanagement and corruption.
“We have a very sinking PFM system that does not deliver accountability… porous, vulnerable to procurement corruption and insider manipulation.
“It is within this same system that climate money will be spent.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
He warned that unless accountability structures are strengthened, climate adaptation financing will be vulnerable to misappropriation, undermining Ghana’s ability to build resilience against climate shocks.
“So the tendency that climate funds will suffer just as every government revenue or expenditure suffers is very high.
“That is why it is important that demand-side actors should be interested in delivering climate adaptation.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
A Climate Vulnerable Nation with Weak Resilience
Asare highlighted that climate action is no longer a peripheral issue but a central development challenge for Ghana.
He noted that for the first time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) incorporated climate vulnerability into its assessment of Ghana, underscoring the growing linkage between environmental risks and economic fragility.
“Dealing with climate has become very important because our very development depends on that,” he remarked. He referenced the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, which ranks Ghana among countries with the weakest resilience capacities despite high vulnerability.
According to him, Ghana lacks sufficient financing to build the infrastructure required to protect communities from intensifying climate threats.
“We are not getting enough money to build the necessary resilience. “The little that comes in to support adaptation must deliver results for the communities that depend on it.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
He explained that the failure to strengthen adaptation efforts would escalate risks for citizens, especially those living in climate-prone areas already burdened by poverty.
Fragmented Climate Laws and Weak Accountability Structures
IMANI expressed concern over the incoherence of Ghana’s climate governance framework, arguing that existing policies do not reinforce or align with one another.
“Our climate policy and legal landscape lacks coherence.
“We have overlapping policies that do not speak to each other, creating a very weak accountability framework.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
He contrasted Ghana’s Climate Change Law with those of South Africa, Kenya and Zambia, which embed stronger accountability mechanisms and institutional clarity.
“Whilst these countries were building strong accountability systems, our law does not create structural institutions that allow people charged with climate duties to be accountable.
“We don’t have a robust accountability step in our climate change law.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
The absence of strong institutional checks, he noted, increases uncertainty for investors and complicates the country’s energy transition agenda.
“When policies do not speak to each other, it heightens investment risk,” he warned, adding that this could undermine Ghana’s competitiveness as a destination for sustainable mining and renewable energy projects.
Worsening Vulnerability and Escalating Poverty Threats
Citing the latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, IPCC assessments, and the World Bank Country Climate and Development Report, Asare said all indicators point to rising climate vulnerability in Ghana, with resilience levels falling even further behind.
“Our vulnerability is worsening, and our resilience is too weak.
“We are still emitting more greenhouse gases, but we lack the necessary infrastructure to build resilience.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
He highlighted the devastating 2024 drought in northern Ghana, which forced government to allocate almost GH¢8 billion in emergency relief. The drought’s ripple effects exposed the fragility of Ghana’s agricultural sector and deepened food insecurity.
“Our food insecurity index shows that at least 3.5 million Ghanaians are food insecure, mostly in climate-vulnerable areas,” he said. He added that poverty and inequality are deepening in these regions, compounding the pressures created by climate impacts.
Asare referenced the World Bank’s projections, noting: “Ghana’s poverty level is likely to exceed 25% before 2033 if nothing is done.”
“Climate has become a multiplier of poverty, worsening drivers such as food insecurity, health risks, educational disruptions and loss of private assets to floods.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
Call for Urgent, Coordinated Reforms
IMANI concluded its presentation with a call for stronger governance, improved financial discipline and coordinated climate policy reforms to protect Ghana from spiralling climate impacts.
“Dealing with climate is no longer just an international conversation.
“It is about the survival of households, communities and the national economy.”
Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI
He underscored the need for strong civic oversight of climate adaptation financing, warning that without such vigilance, Ghana risks losing transformative opportunities to build resilience.
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