The journey towards net zero emissions was an ambitious yet achievable goal, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) noted.

"As Africa embraces clean energy, it will not only address the challenges posed by climate change but also unlock new opportunities for economic development, job creation and improved quality of life for its people," he said.

The Vice-Chancellor was addressing the opening session of the Fourth Commencement Lecture, organised by the University on the topic, "Towards Net Zero Emissions: The Role of Clean Energy in Africa," at Somanya, in the Eastern Region.

The Lecture, the fourth in the series of intellectual discourse, is an initiative of the University aimed at discussing issues pertaining to the environment and sustainable development.

It also marks the commencement of the University's academic year an institution seeking to be a Centre of Excellence in knowledge gathering and dissemination of environmental issues for the public good.

The theme for this year's Commencement Lecture was premised against the backdrop of the urgent need to address the issue of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Africa, with its growing population and expanding economies, is at the crossroads of its energy future.

The Directorate of Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Division of the UN Economic Commission for Africa says the mobilisation of finance to tackle climate change, particularly for adaptation, is as urgent as ever.

"The good news is that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy generation available and, therefore, it makes sense for Africa to invest in renewables," it said.

Prof Nyarko-Sampson argued that the continent's vast renewable energy potentialincluding solar, wind, hydro and geothermal resources, positioned it as a prime candidate for a clean energy revolution.

Clean energy solutions played a pivotal role in shaping the continent's future while addressing the issue of greenhouse emissions, he stressed.

Dr Daniel Tutu Benefoh, the acting Director of the Climate Change Unit of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), in his presentation, stressed the need for an orderly transition.

In the case of Ghana, he stated that the country was striving to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, through the deployment of low-carbon solutions across all sectors.

A 2060 target could achieve an orderly transition, balancing public policy objectives, he noted and cited four main decarbonisation technologies being explored to anchor the vision.

Together, renewables, low-carbon hydrogen, battery electric vehicles and clean cookstoves cover over 90 per cent of the 2060 abatement strategies.

On the socio-economic impacts and financing needs, Dr Benefoh explained that, in a net zero scenario, Ghana would need around US$550 billion in capital investment by 2060.

Delivering this investment could drive new economic activity in the energy sector and beyond, potentially, supporting an additional 400, 000 net new jobs by 2060.

A set of technology transitions, via a power generation mix, will be needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

With the energy transition issues in sub-Sahara Africa, experts are also focusing on the environmental stewardship and climate resilience components of the strategies, and there is the need for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.

Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, a former Minister of State, said Africa needed a realistic road map that considered a different, but effective, approach towards net zero emissions.

He lauded the University for taking the initiative to deliberate on the topical issue, saying it was critical that African countries, along with the rest of the world, took deliberate and realistic steps to arrest climate change.

Prof Jonathan Narh Ayertey, the Council Chairman, UESD, said Africa had the resources in abundance to provide all the energy needed for development.

The University, therefore, would continue to engage stakeholders to enhance research, knowledge-sharing and technology transfer to provide alternative sources of clean energy on the journey towards net zero emissions.

Some stakeholders argued that the continent should not be compelled to undertake any risky venture in a way that will exacerbate the region's struggling economies and create more poverty.

The Africa Finance Corporation, in a document calling for a pragmatic approach to achieving net zero in Africa, admitted that the continent accounted for less than four per cent of the current global greenhouse gas emissions.

The white paper, entitled "Roadmap to Africa's COP: A Pragmatic Path to Net Zero," argues that there are limited benefits to be gained from reducing the region's already far lower emissions.

The report concludes that instead of cutting emissions, African nations will drive a far greater effect in combating global warming by focusing instead on three significant areas of change: localising, rebuilding and innovating.

It warns that worldwide momentum around climate action is likely to trigger dislocations in the global flow of capital, with unintended consequences for developing countries' access to funds.

This is already apparent in the redirection of capital flows to middle-income countries to drive carbon emission mitigation, bypassing poorer and less polluting regions.

This must be taken into account in the making of a blueprint for a pragmatic transition for Africa that balances the continent's very low emissions and development aspirations, while also ensuring the region engages in a realistic net-zero global agenda.