Ghana’s National Climate Change and Green Economy Learning Strategy represents a forward-looking national framework designed to strengthen the country’s capacity for effective climate action. As part of the Alliance for Sustainability Education’s ongoing commitment to advancing climate literacy and deepening public understanding of national and regional policy instruments, we reviewed the 229-page strategy to distil 11 key insights that highlight how the document intends to use learning, training, and capacity building to drive Ghana’s just green transition.
1. Ghana’s response to climate change explicitly recognises that technical fixes and finance are necessary but insufficient without a robust, country-driven learning and capacity-building architecture. As a Party to the UNFCCC, Ghana is mandated to design and implement result-oriented strategies on climate change education, training and public awareness. The National Climate Change and Green Economy Learning Strategy was created precisely to meet that mandate, translating the objectives of the National Climate Change Masterplan and Policy into concrete learning actions that accelerate implementation of Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
2. Prepared through nationwide stakeholder consultations under the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership, the strategy covers a decade (pre-implementation from 2016 to 2019 and full implementation from 2020 to 2029) and identifies a total financing need of USD 103,073,000. This investment aims to develop human capital across formal education, technical and vocational training, and non-formal public awareness channels so Ghana can mainstream climate resilience and green economy principles throughout society and the economy.
3. The strategy’s vision is to create a sustainable pool of human resources: technically competent professionals, educators and trainers; a public with baseline climate and green-economy understanding; and institutions capable of coordinating implementation, monitoring progress and catalysing green jobs and innovation. Capacity building is identified as a central pillar of the National Climate Change Policy because effective governance and behavioural change depend on well-trained people and sound institutional processes.
4. To achieve this vision, the strategy sets seven interlinked objectives: (1) assess existing capacity to address climate change across key sectors; (2) foster a systematic, country-driven process to enhance climate and green-economy learning and implement priority action plans; (3) strengthen institutional capacity for governance, coordination, science, innovation and accountable monitoring and reporting; (4) identify and prioritise actions to integrate climate and green economy learning into national education and training systems; (5) link learning to the National Climate Change Policy and sustainable development aims through capacity and knowledge enhancement; (6) mobilise resources for training, education, public awareness and capacity building from national budgets and external sources; and (7) ensure the creation and sustainment of the human resource base required to catalyse a transition to a green economy.
5. Implementation is organised around six sectoral priority areas that mirror the National Climate Change Policy: agriculture and food systems; disaster preparedness and response; natural resource management; equitable social development; and energy, industrial and infrastructural development, together with a cross-cutting priority on general education and capacity building. The strategy draws on a Green Economy Learning Assessment to identify skills gaps and ensure that action plans match Ghana’s real capacity needs.
6. Thirteen priority actions are highlighted as foundational enablers for broader implementation. Notable examples include instituting a Climate Change and Green Economy Festival/Week with programmes at national, regional, district and community levels; training professionals on the design, management and operation of climate-resilient infrastructure; integrating climate change and green economy learning across curricula from pre-school through tertiary education; developing climate-and-health training programmes for clinical health workers to identify and manage climate-related health conditions; and providing technical and financial assistance for businesses to pilot viable green initiatives.
7. Given Ghana’s emerging capacity needs, the strategy identifies four overarching skills development priorities with specific emphases: (1) climate-smart innovations and technology, including product and service innovation, technology adaptation and access, and climate-smart agriculture; (2) value chain financing and insurance for climate-smart business innovations, encompassing commodity exchanges, futures markets, carbon trading and technical capacity in market norms and standards; (3) energy generation, saving and efficiency, covering opportunities such as waste-to-energy (pyrolysis), renewable energy technologies and landfill gas capture; and (4) education, training and advocacy, aimed at strengthening lecturers and trainers for climate courses in higher education and deploying peer educators for non-formal training.
8. Ghana positions the green economy as the vehicle for sustainable development. With UNEP support, the country has mapped green economy transition priorities across budgeting, agriculture, energy, forestry, water, transport, environmental management, roads and building, industry, finance, manufacturing and tourism, signalling a whole-of-economy approach to skills and institutional readiness. The strategy also notes alignment with national instruments such as the Ghana National Youth Policy, which already embraces climate education and capacity building.
9. On institutional capacity, the Green Economy Learning Assessment found that many institutions possess useful human resources and skills that can advance green economy objectives, while also underscoring remaining gaps. To strengthen evidence-based action and knowledge sharing, the establishment of a National Climate Data Hub under the EPA’s Climate Change Unit is presented as critical. Such a hub would improve access to climate information, support research, and inform training and policy processes, including international negotiations where technical expertise is required.
10. The strategy recognises that capacity building is both technical and behavioural: it must change attitudes and practices by combining science with accessible messaging and by drawing on traditional knowledge. Translating complex climate science into simple, culturally relevant messages is essential to mobilise communities and nurture climate-responsible behaviours.
11. Leadership for implementation rests with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), supported by sector agencies, academic institutions, the private sector and development partners. Together, these actors can turn the strategy’s actions into measurable learning outcomes that strengthen Ghana’s adaptive capacity and advance a low-carbon, inclusive development pathway.
