A Malawian delegation, in collaboration with UNDP Ghana, has held a high-level strategic meeting with Ghanaian stakeholders on climate action to exchange knowledge on carbon markets development, waste management and the regulation of single-use plastics.

The meeting in Accra last Thursday formed part of Malawi’s efforts to strengthen its readiness for participation in global carbon markets while addressing growing environmental challenges, including plastic pollution and weak waste management systems.

The Malawian delegation’s visit aimed to provide an opportunity for the country to learn from Ghana’s advanced carbon market systems, robust regulatory frameworks, and practical implementation of climate and environmental policies.

The two-day engagement is intended to deepen Malawi’s understanding of carbon market governance, financing and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems.

It also sought to strengthen institutional capacity for engaging in international carbon markets and to exchange lessons on the enforcement of environmental policies, particularly on single-use plastics and waste management.

Ghana’s progress

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Seidu Issifu, said Ghana had made significant strides in positioning itself as a leader in Africa’s carbon market landscape.

He explained that the country’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) identified 16 unconditional and 31 conditional climate actions requiring international collaboration and carbon finance.

To support this, he said, the government had established a robust regulatory framework for carbon trading, a National Carbon Registry to track Internationally Transferred Mitigation

Outcomes (ITMOs), and a dedicated Carbon Market Office under the EPA Act 1124.

Mr Issifu added that the government had already authorised the transfer of one million carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, mobilised carbon revenue for sustainable development, conserved over 50,000 hectares of forest through the REDD+ initiative, and supported climate-resilient land use for thousands of people.

He said the meeting reflected a growing commitment among African countries to strengthen regional cooperation and accelerate climate action through shared learning and practical partnerships.

For her part, Malawi’s Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Patricia Wiskies, commended Ghana for its leadership in operationalising carbon markets in Africa, and expressed interest in adopting similar institutional and legal frameworks to drive its own climate agenda.

Ms Wiskies said Malawi had come to Ghana not for theoretical discussions but to learn from a fellow African nation that had moved from “readiness to implementation” under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, Niloy Banerjee, called for mutual learning and South-South cooperation between Ghana and Malawi as both countries deepened their engagement on carbon market development.

Mr Banerjee said the partnership should not be viewed as a one-way knowledge transfer but as an exchange that would benefit both nations.

“Malawi is not here to learn from Ghana. Malawi is here to share what they have with Ghana. And similarly, Ghana will want to share what they have with South-South borders,” he said.