In July 2025, Ghana achieved a landmark: it issued and transferred 11,733 tonnes of carbon credits known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) to Switzerland under the bilateral agreement governed by Paris Agreement Article 6.2
This was no ordinary trade. It marked Africa’s first issuance of Paris-aligned carbon credits and one of the largest bilateral climate transactions in the world to date. For Ghana, it was a signal: the country is ready to compete not just in cocoa or gold, but in the new global currency of climate accountability.
The deal in brief
The credits originated from Ghana’s Transformative Cookstove Initiative, which distributed thousands of improved cookstoves across rural communities.
These upgraded stoves reduce household air pollution by up to 80%, cut fuel consumption by around 60%, and significantly lower exposure to indoor smoke, one of the leading causes of respiratory illness in developing regions.
Under the Article 6.2 framework, Ghana applied a “corresponding adjustment” in its greenhouse gas inventory. That means the emissions reductions are counted once by Switzerland, not Ghana, ensuring the trade meets the transparency and integrity rules of the Paris Agreement. These ITMOs are valued roughly USD $20-25 per tonne in this context. S&P Global+1
Why it matters
A New Revenue Frontier for Ghana
This deal cracks open the door to a green export economy. Instead of only shipping physical goods, Ghana can now export verified environmental impact.
Carbon finance gives governments and local innovators the ability to monetize sustainability outcomes, from reforestation and clean cooking to transport efficiency. It’s a shift from resource extraction to resource regeneration.
And for Ghana, one of the first African countries to execute a Paris-aligned transfer, it’s a bold signal to international investors: “We have the systems, the data, and the integrity to play in the global carbon economy.”
Tech and Data: The Hidden Enablers
For us at Sanasana, and for the businesses using our product Spark, this is a golden opportunity.
Our technology, which already helps fleets monitor fuel efficiency, trips, and emissions is part of the same ecosystem needed for carbon measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV).
Fleet data is climate data. Every optimized route, every litre of fuel saved, every verified trip can feed into the national emissions story. And that’s where we see opportunity: turning the everyday operational data of African companies into verified environmental assets that can power green financing and carbon credit generation.
The Ethical Dimension
This isn’t just about trading tonnes. Behind every carbon credit lies a human story.
The cookstove project wasn’t just about numbers on a ledger, it created jobs, improved health, and reduced energy burdens for thousands of households.
But as Ghana and others scale up similar projects, the ethical questions grow louder: Who benefits most from these trades? How are communities compensated? Can we ensure these markets don’t become another extractive system, this time trading in climate goodwill instead of minerals?
Sustainability must go hand in hand with fairness, or it risks repeating the very patterns it seeks to solve
The Bigger Picture
For Ghana, this first trade with Switzerland is more than a transaction, it’s a statement of intent. For companies like ours, it’s an invitation.
The world is entering a phase where climate impact will be tracked, priced, and traded and data will be the infrastructure that holds it all together.
Sanasana was built to make fleet management smarter. Now, it’s evolving to make climate action measurable. From cutting costs to cutting emissions, from saving fuel to generating verified carbon savings, the leap is shorter than it looks.
Ghana’s deal with Switzerland isn’t just a headline; it’s a door opening. For those ready to walk through; innovators, technologists, financiers, the next frontier of African sustainability has already begun.