Ghana cookstove project becomes Africa’s first carbon offset deal

Ghana has become the first African country to complete its first issuance and sale of carbon credits under a bilateral agreement between Ghana and Switzerland. The transaction was a bilateral agreement between Ghana and Switzerland aimed at promoting international climate finance.

This carbon credits transaction represents the first cookstove project under a bilateral framework envisaged under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

According to the official statement, the project idea was launched in 2024 to address a critical gap in clean energy access. It was initially financed through a $4 million project finance debt facility provided by Spark+ Africa Fund to a special purpose vehicle established by U.S.-based Envirofit International (Envirofit).

“Switzerland-based KliK Foundation (KliK) engaged in a fixed-price offtake agreement and ACT Commodities (ACT) served as the registered project owner and key counterparty with KliK and Envirofit,” the statement said.

“To facilitate the manufacturing and distribution of additional units in 2025/26, increasing the project’s target from 60,000 to 120,000 cookstoves, Spark+ has approved an additional debt facility of $2.85 million,” it added.

The statement further notes that the collaboration between Spark+, Envirofit, ACT, and KliK demonstrates a robust commitment to leveraging finance for positive environmental and social outcomes.

Peter George, Investment Director at Spark+, told Gas Outlook that the collaboration between Spark+, Envirofit, ACT, and KliK was critical as each party played a specific role. He said Spark+ provided the upfront financing to generate the internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), Envirofit is responsible for the stove manufacturing, sales, and carbon monitoring activities; while ACT is the intermediary between the project, and KliK buys the ITMOs.

ITMOs are units that represent a ton of greenhouse gas reduction or removal, used under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to help countries meet their emission targets.

The CEO of Envirofit, Tim Bauer, said the firm is excited to have achieved this key milestone with its partners. He said the effort combines strong governmental commitments to climate change mitigation with a robust programme design and monitoring plan, backed by a dedicated debt facility to deliver an overall best-in-class carbon programme.

Ghana’s clean cookstove deal with Switzerland is not just about cutting wood smoke; it’s also tied to the future of gas. By subsidizing efficient stoves, Ghana sidesteps the costly expansion of LPG imports often touted as the clean-cooking solution. Critics warn that this allows Swiss companies to delay actual cuts in fossil fuel consumption, while traders like ACT still profit from global gas and fuel markets.

Hedge against fossil-gas lock-in

Emmanuel Kwabana, a project manager at GreenLab Energy Technologies, told Gas Outlook that — practically and politically — the project functions as a hedge against fossil gas lock-in. He said the project expanding LPG for clean cooking requires foreign currency outlays for fuel imports, storage, cylinder recirculation, and last-mile distribution.

“That infrastructure then creates path dependence: subsidies and sunk costs that keep households tethered to imported fuels even as prices and supply fluctuate. By channeling carbon finance into efficient biomass cookstoves, Ghana leans on locally-available feedstocks (wood/charcoal) but cuts fuel use and emissions sharply, lowering pressure on foreign exchange while improving household air quality,” he said.

“The Article 6.2 framework adds a fiscal lever: the first transfer of 11,733 ITMOs to Switzerland under the Ghana Carbon Registry unlocks results-based payments without committing Ghana to long-term LPG import growth.”

Kwabana further stated that the project documents envision up to 180,000 improved stoves over multiple phases, pairing domestic manufacturing and consumer finance with rigorous MRV, so that climate finance substitutes for fossil-fuel subsidies while scaling a locally rooted clean-cooking pathway.

Risk of prolonging fossil fuel use

Kwabana said Ghana’s project is sound climate finance for clean cooking; the enabling-fossils problem arises only if importing countries treat ITMOs as a substitute rather than a bridge while they simultaneously tighten policies to shrink oil and gas use at home.

He noted that there is a real risk, depending on how Switzerland integrates offsets with domestic decarbonisation efforts.

“Under Article 6.2, Switzerland (via the KliK Foundation) can count Ghana-generated ITMOs toward its Paris targets and obligations under the Swiss CO₂ Act. That delivers tangible benefits in Ghana: cleaner air, lower biomass use, jobs, less pressure to expand LPG imports but risks becoming a pressure-release valve for Swiss oil and gas consumption if offsets displace, rather than complement, rapid domestic cuts,” he said.

“The safeguard is policy design: ‘corresponding adjustments,’ transparency, an overall mitigation of global emissions (OMGE) deduction, and a legal cap that keeps offsets supplemental to aggressive phase-down of fossil demand. Civil society has also flagged over-crediting concerns in clean-cooking methodologies; that scrutiny strengthens the case for conservative baselines, continuous usage monitoring, and third-party verification,” he added.

Clean cooking stove acceptance by local communities

Folix Ait, a Programs Officer at the Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Solutions, told Gas Outlook that based on his involvement with Improve Cook Stove (ICS) projects, community acceptance of improved cookstoves has been palpably high. He said families visibly appreciate the stoves’ efficiency, ease of use, and smoke reduction.

This field enthusiasm aligns with the broader initiative under Article 6.2: Ghana’s “Transformative Cookstove Activity in Rural Ghana,” authorised by both Ghana and Switzerland.

That household response reflects real user demand and ensures that the project’s environmental claims are grounded in genuine adoption, said Ait.

Regarding durability and maintenance, the project has instituted rigorous quality assurance protocols, he added. 

“Finally, these adoption and durability systems not only support community outcomes but also uphold environmental integrity making the carbon credits credible and sustainable over time, not just in the initial phase.

“Through Ghana’s Carbon Registry, ITMOs are issued and transferred only after both emissions and usage are verified, with Ghana adjusting its national emissions inventory to avoid double counting. This structure ensures that Switzerland can claim CO₂ reductions as long as the stoves remain functional and in use, reinforcing the legitimacy of the emissions offsets under Article 6.2.,” he added.

Green branding by fossil-linked traders

Kwabana raised concerns that the credibility test is whether ACT’s role measurably accelerates real-world emission cuts and whether governance fences off marketing spin from carbon-market delivery. He noted ACT positions itself as the project owner/counterparty that can mobilise upfront capital, structure consumer finance, and deliver scale, while adhering to Article 6.2 rules and robust Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV).

“That’s the affirmative case: balance-sheet strength plus transaction expertise can speed clean-cooking deployment that would otherwise stall. The critique is conflict of interest: a firm active in oil/fuels trading benefits reputationally from “green” projects while fossil trading continues.

He said addressing that requires verifiable guardrails, conservative baselines, usage monitoring, transparent issuance and transfers, public reporting, and clear evidence that revenues are recycled into additional clean-cooking deployment rather than mere branding.

“Independent oversight from Ghana’s registry and Switzerland’s KliK program, plus disclosure of volumes (e.g., 11,733 ITMOs issued July 2025) and methodology choices, helps. Ultimately, the answer isn’t a slogan; it’s traceable impact at scale, audited data, and a demonstrable shift in capital allocation toward clean.”

Ait also raised concerns that the project may be seen as strategic PR if transparency and performance are not maintained over time. He said the carbon credit sector has faced credibility challenges in the past, especially around overestimated reductions and stove underuse.

“Ghana’s long-term leadership will depend on demonstrating verified usage, delivering sustained community benefits, and openly sharing results. If these conditions are met, the framework will stand as both a credible climate action tool and a replicable template for the continent,” he ended.

However, Alliance Sud criticizes Switzerland’s Ghana cookstove offset project for lacking transparency, overstating emission reductions, and enabling Switzerland to delay domestic climate action. They argue the scheme prioritises investor profits while undermining genuine mitigation and creating contradictions in sustainable development goals.

(Writing by Samuel Ajala; editing by Sophie Davies)