Zurich, February 29, 2024 – Ghana and Switzerland have authorized a new mitigation activity that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 'Transformative Cookstove Activity in Rural Ghana' has been co-developed by ACT Group and Envirofit and is being supported by the Foundation for Climate Protection and Carbon Offset KliK. It is Switzerland’s third authorized activity in Ghana under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, and first fully authorized cookstove activity. By purchasing the resulting Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), the KliK Foundation is making the mitigation activity financially viable.

The greenhouse gas mitigation activity with 180,000 Improved Cookstoves (ICS) is estimated to improve the lives of an estimated 0.75M Ghanaian citizens. The ICS technology reduces smoke and toxic emissions in individual households by as much as 80% and reduces cooking fuel costs by as much as 60%. As many as 10,000 deaths each year in Ghana are attributed to air quality issues.

The 180,000 ICS will be sold to smallholder farmers in rural and peri-urban parts of Ghana at a below-cost price subsidized by carbon finance. The upfront payment for the production and distribution of the ICS is provided by BIX Capital and Spark+ Africa Fund, and offered in tandem with access to a revolving consumer credit fund provided through established Village Loan and Savings Associations. This product ‘buy-in’ is expected to increase adoption and usage rates, help drive the creation of local routes to market, incentivize entrepreneurs, and support the creation of a sustainable marketplace. It will be paired with product demonstrations that highlight the stoves' efficiency, emphasizing the economic benefits of reduced fuel consumption. The cookstove models are locally produced by Envirofit Ghana, driving the creation of close to 300 new jobs across the entire value-chain.

The Ghanaian government has included improved cookstove activities in its whitelist for carbon markets, identifying cookstove activities as additional measures to those it implements under its unconditional Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. In addition, the greenhouse gas mitigation activity has been carefully designed to prevent the risk of over-crediting through Envirofit’s newly developed state-of-the-art usage and performance monitoring strategy. Surveys and kitchen performance tests will be conducted at a higher frequency than the industry average with a customized and comprehensive methodology to monitor stove usage and fuel savings. Leveraging digital monitoring and verification techniques, stove usage will also be confirmed by thermal sensor data. The activity takes a conservative approach to measuring fraction of non-renewable biomass (fNRB), a key metric for abatement. Activity measurements are conducted using 30% fNRB by default. It can be adapted if i) updated and regional values are available and ii) both countries agree to the change. The project documentation can be found here (Registered compensation projects abroad (admin.ch)).

“The authorization of the first cookstove activity is a milestone for all involved parties and for the Article 6 market, said Yannick Träris-Kahriman, Director Carbon Procurement, KliK Foundation. “We are proud to enable the distribution of this high-quality product through the purchase of the ITMOs and look forward to its implementation in the coming years."

“The authorization of the 'Transformative Cookstove Activity in Rural Ghana' marks a significant milestone in the collaborative working relationship between ACT Group, Envirofit, the KliK Foundation, the project’s financiers, and the governments of Ghana and Switzerland,” commented Daniel de Vries, Manager of Energy and Carbon Market Strategies, EU, ACT Group. “Thanks to the ambition, dedication and flexibility of all partners, this mitigation activity raises the standard for cookstove mitigation activities and advances clean cooking solutions."

“This program is the culmination of Envirofit’s product and carbon program development experience. It brings together 15 years of high-quality customer-centered product design with robust real-world data-driven carbon program development to deliver the highest quality ITMO credits, while fostering local entrepreneurship and delivering sustainable benefits to three quarters of a million Ghanaians,” Tim Bauer, President and COO at Envirofit highlights. “Reducing deforestation and improving Ghana’s climate benefits millions more. Envirofit is extremely proud to be partners on this initiative in Ghana.”

Dr. Daniel Tutu Benefoh, head of Ghana’s Carbon Market Office commented, “The project has been purposefully designed with significant input from expert working groups within both Ghana and Switzerland. From the first technical meeting in Ghana through project validation, the project team continually engaged and collaborated with all stakeholders to ensure that the program surpassed existing crediting methodologies, including multiple monitoring and tracking innovations making this a ‘best-in-class’ program.”

Legal framework of international climate protection activities

Ghana and Switzerland are collaborating under a cooperative approach referred to in Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement and signed a bilateral climate agreement at COP26 in Glasgow on November 24, 2020. This agreement regulates the cooperation between the two countries and establishes a legal framework for the implementation of greenhouse gas mitigation activities under Article 6.2. The agreement ensures that the mitigation activities meet the highest standards of quality, environmental integrity, SDGs, and human rights.

Ghana’s confirmation of the additionality of the mitigation project to its NDC, and its agreement to make corresponding adjustments to its national emissions registry, forms the basis for the authorization of the mitigation activity by both countries of [31 January 2024]. With the Mitigation Activity Design Document and all required supporting documentation, ACT Group demonstrated to the Ghanaian and Swiss authorities that additional financing from carbon revenues is needed to make the project financially viable.

The ITMOs achieved with KliK Foundation’s financial support will be transferred in accordance with the bilateral climate agreement and used to meet Switzerland's emission reduction target under the Paris Agreement.

About the KliK Foundation

The KliK Foundation fulfils the legal obligation on Swiss motor fuel importers, mandated under the Swiss CO2 Act, to offset part of the carbon emissions from the Swiss transport sector. To this end, the KliK Foundation supports and organises not only national but also international climate protection programmes, in accordance with Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. It finances the deployment of climate-friendly technologies and innovations through the purchase of the resulting ITMOs of mitigation activities. Learn more at https://www.klik.ch/en/international/.

About Envirofit

Envirofit is a certified B Corp Social Benefits Corporation dedicated to improving clean energy access for the ‘next billion’. Beginning in 2009, under the Clean Development Mechanism, Envirofit (with its investors) the concept of using future carbon offsets to pre-finance an up-front subsidy to incentivise the wide-spread adoption of clean cooking technology – which would not otherwise be affordable to this customer segment. Envirofit has commercialized customer-focused solutions for customers using firewood, charcoal and LPG. Having developed over 10 in-market factories, and hundreds of routes to market, Envirofit has been instrumental in the development of the clean cooking and carbon finance sectors. The result has been enabling more than 45M tons of greenhouse gas reduction and over $10B USD in socio-economic co-benefits. Learn more at https://envirofit.org/.