Ghana’s 42 million tonnes of greenhouse gas is just a small fraction of Africa’s 4 percent of contributions to global emissions. However, the country is among the top six largest GHG emitters in the ECOWAS subregion. Its total national emissions have increased by 66 percent over the period 1990-2016 and are projected to nearly double to 74 MtCO2e by 2030 along the BAU trajectory. Given this trend, it is quite likely that emissions will exceed their allowable limits if concrete steps are not taken to reduce them. If the current economic structure is not modified, emissions will continue to increase and, even, worsen beyond 2030. Ghana’s rising emissions trend correlates positively with observed GDP and population growth.

This report is the culmination of a joint effort to evaluate the current state of Ghana’s MRV system and propose practical ways to institutionalise it in the energy and transport sectors. The assignment was originally focused on designing energy and transport sector-specific MRV, but the team has developed an MRV tool that applies to all NDC sectors. However, the team has used energy and transport case examples throughout this document to illustrate salient concepts of MRV. The document’s purpose is to understand MRV practices and suggest concrete methods to strengthen the accuracy of GHG estimates and mitigation actions to achieve its national targets, as well as to ensure accountability in terms of support received. The aim is to develop a tailor-made MRV tool across all NDC sectors, including energy and transport. The tool will help the Government of Ghana to report on the progress of all NDC mitigation actions in all sectors.