The call was made by Ghana’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability during a high-level discussion at the Ghana Pavilion in the Blue Zone of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, on Wednesday.
The discussion, held under the theme “Shared Future, Shared Prosperity: Aligning Climate Prosperity Plans with the Green Belt and Road”, examined ways to translate commitments under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) into viable investment opportunities that support Africa’s development priorities.
For Ghana, climate action is not charity; it is a strategic investment in our future,” the Minister said, stressing that climate investments should be viewed as opportunities to accelerate industrialisation, create decent jobs, improve energy security and build a more resilient economy.
He said Ghana was strengthening its climate leadership and coordination through the establishment of a dedicated Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability by President John Dramani Mahama.
The Minister also highlighted Ghana’s position as host of the headquarters of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group (CVF-V20), which advocate for countries particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change.
He said the country was advancing its climate ambitions through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Green Finance Taxonomy and other measures aimed at strengthening institutional coordination and mobilising climate finance.
Ghana’s Climate Prosperity Plan, he added, provides a framework for translating climate priorities into investment opportunities while ensuring that development objectives are aligned with climate resilience.
However, he stressed that access to affordable financing and debt sustainability remained critical to enabling climate-vulnerable countries to pursue their development ambitions without worsening their economic challenges.
Turning commitments into investments
The Minister welcomed China’s commitment under the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan for 2025–2027 to support 30 clean energy and green development projects across Africa, but emphasised the need to ensure that the commitment resulted in tangible investments.
The true measure of our partnership must be our ability to translate these commitments into bankable projects, mobilized finance, and tangible development outcomes,” he said.
With the action plan approaching its final year, he called for accelerated efforts to prepare viable projects, attract investment and move from commitments to implementation.
He identified Country Platforms and Climate Prosperity Plans as important instruments for helping African governments establish national priorities, develop credible investment pipelines and connect projects with financing, technology and implementation partners.
According to him, the Green Belt and Road Initiative could provide an important channel for investments in renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrialisation and green technologies.
He, however, emphasised that such investments must reflect the priorities of participating countries, build local capabilities and deliver sustainable benefits to communities.
African ownership central to climate cooperation
The Minister further called for stronger practical cooperation between the CVF-V20 and the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition to ensure that climate partnerships produce measurable development outcomes.
He said the success of the collaboration should not be judged by the volume of commitments announced but by the investments secured, projects delivered, jobs created and communities made more resilient.
Our success should be measured by the projects we developed, the investments we mobilized, the jobs we create, and the resilience we build for our communities,” he said.
He also underscored the importance of African ownership in shaping climate investment priorities, cautioning against development approaches that leave countries on the continent merely receiving externally designed interventions.
Above all, let us ensure that African countries remain at the center of defining and driving their own development pathways,” he added.
Ghana’s intervention reinforces the need for Africa-China climate cooperation to move beyond diplomatic commitments towards practical investment partnerships that support national development priorities, strengthen local economies and improve livelihoods.
