The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF) programme, implemented with financial support of the European Union and Agence FrançaiseDe Développement (AFD), has ended in Accra.
The Programme marked a significant milestone in Ghana’s efforts to promote sustainable finance, climate-friendly investment, and private sector-led green growth.
It delivered measurable climate and environmental benefits in line with Ghana’s national energy and climate policies.
Through SUNREF Ghana, partner banks (GCB Bank and Cal Bank) enhanced their capacity to assess and finance sustainable projects.
It combined dedicated credit lines of 30 million EUR from the AFD, and the two million EUR for the technical assistance facility from the European Union Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund.
It also had an investment grant of 2.4million EUR to provide additional incentives to improve the financial viability of eligible green investments and support the adoption of cleaner and more efficient technologies.
The Programme supported the completion of seven projects representing a total loan portfolio of USD 20million.
In addition, four projects, with an estimated loan value of UDS 5.5 million are currently under assessment by the partner banks.
The completed projects have achieved measurable climate and energy outcomes, including estimated annual energy savings of 7,736MWh.
It also enabled the installation of 0.8MW of renewable energy capacity, and generated annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions of approximately 139,020 tons of CO2, significantly exceeding the programme’s initial target of 13,300 tons of CO2 equivalent.
The programme demonstrates how EU and AFD-supported financial instruments can mobilize local financial institutions and businesses to deliver concrete climate and development outcomes.
Mr Rune Skinnebach, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, said it was transition from a supported programme to a sustainable green finance ecosystem that could continue to grow on its own.
He said SUNREF Ghana was designed with the clear objective of moving climate action from policy papers into real investments, from intentions into concrete projects, and from European, French and Ghanaian public ambition into private sector leadership.
Madam Eunice A. Biritwum, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, emphasised that SUNREF’s most significant outcomes laid in the institutional and market changes it had catalyzed.
She said they had learned that blended finance was a powerful tool for de-risking renewable energy and energy efficiency investment.
Technical assistance was essential, not optional, in building sustainable pipelines for bankable green projects, Madam Biritwum said.
She said strong environmental and social safeguards were critical for long-term impact and investor confidence.
“Partnerships built on trust, consistency, and shared responsibility are the true currency of success,” she added.
Madam Diarra Dimé-Labille, the French Ambassador, said through the AFD and in close cooperation with the European Union, France was proud to support Ghana’s effort to build a resilient, low-carbon, and inclusive economy.
She said SUNREF Ghana had demonstrated how public finance could strategically mobilise private capital to deliver concrete clean climate and development outcomes.
The Ambassador said France would remain fully committed to accompanying Ghana on that journey through AFD, through Team Europe, and through continuing dialogue and partnership.
SUNREF Ghana was hosted by the Energy Commission and designed to promote private sector investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmentally sustainable projects.