Jospong Group & Swiss Government: A Carbon Trading Partnership
It was a sun-kissed hazy day in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates on December 2, 2023, during the 28thClimate Change Conference held at the Expo City. The venue was the Ghana Pavilion and the entire leadership and workforce of the Jospong Group had every reason to be proud.
This was the day that saw representatives of the Swiss Government, led by His Excellency Ambassador Felix Wertli of the Swiss Federal Office for Environment (BAFU) and representatives of the Jospong Group, led by visionary Executive Chairman, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, sign an authroisation document which conferred an internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) credit on the Integrated Waste Recycling and Compost facilities of the Jospong Group of Companies.
The number of dignitaries, who witnessed the historic occasion, was awesome. It included no less a personality than His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana; Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), Dr. Freda Prempeh, Minister of Water and Sanitation, as well as representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana.
The ITMO status covers four out of the 38 waste treatment plants belonging to Zoomlion Ghana, a subsidiary of Jospong Group, which were selected for the initial phase of the project aiming to generate approximately 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide valued at US$20 million from now until 2030.
For His Excellency Ambassador Felix Wertli of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), the signing of the document was of great significance to the Swiss government in pursuit of reducing carbon emissions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
He highlighted the mutually beneficial nature of the agreement, with Ghana reducing emissions and enhancing waste management while Switzerland advances its climate goals. He also expressed Switzerland’s eagerness to continue strengthening its relationship with Ghana in these endeavours.
Dr. Agyepong, on his part, said the world has now gone green, and as such, about 1,000 of Zoomlion’s diesel waste trucks are undergoing conversion into electric vehicles in partnership ZeroNox in the USA. He announced the company’s plans for extensive climate-related research in 2024, adding that the Jospong Group intends to sponsor a number of individuals in climate studies.
