Sweden’s new climate venture: Elmopeds in Ghana

They look like the usual mopeds found in hundreds of thousands in Ghana; Red, simple motocross -like – but they go on electricity. And now they will help Sweden meet their climate goals.

In a new project, the Swedish Energy Agency is investing SEK 109 million to get more electric mopeds to start rolling on Ghana’s streets. There are already around 9,000 electric mopeds in Ghana, according to the Swedish Energy Agency. With the help of Swedish tax money, 48,000 more will come into traffic, both in cities and in the countryside.

– Swedish funds will primarily lower prices for electric motorcycles, they are not competitive right now in the market, says Sandra Lindström, head of the unit for international climate collaborations at the Swedish Energy Agency.

As a thank you, Sweden is allowed to count the emission reduction that is achieved, which is allowed according to Swedish climate legislation. In total, these are 250,000 tonnes of emissions reductions that accrue to Sweden until 2030, or about 2 percent of emissions from the Swedes’ driving last year. The price tag lands at around SEK 400 per tonne.

Is it cheaper to lower emissions in Ghana than in Sweden?

– It is a question for the Government Offices to answer, we do this based on assignments that we have received from the government, says Sandra Lindström.

The Kristersson government has greatly increased investments in this type of climate compensation. In total, the government spends SEK 1.5 billion on climate measures in other countries until 2036.

But the criticism of the investments is extensive, including from the government’s own climate investigator, economics professor John Hassler. IN its investigation into the Swedish climate goals in 2023 he wrote that it is « in practice impossible » to calculate how much emission reductions climate projects in poor countries actually give – and that one should not be able to settle the investments against their own climate goals.

Wim Carton, sustainability researcher at Lund University, is also skeptical of the Elmopeds’ climate gain. Ghana has an electricity grid that is fossil -dominated, with around two -thirds natural gas. At the same time, the mopeds themselves and their batteries are mainly produced in China, where coal power stands for the majority of electricity generation.

– It is very difficult to say with certainty how much emission gains this gives, he says, but points out that he has not studied the project.

Can’t there be a point that it is cheaper with emissions reductions there than here?

– Yes, but in the long term, all countries must down to zero net emissions. The risk is that rich countries seize the low -hanging fruits in poor countries.

Despite the criticism, the government is working to ensure that the entire EU follows the Swedish model. The new climate goals by 2040 are currently being negotiated and the government is argued that they can be partly reached through climate compensation under what is called the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. In this way, Swedish investments could be used to meet the EU climate requirements in Sweden.

« The EU should explore collaborations under Article 6 to achieve our climate goals, » said Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) when EU environmental ministers gathered in December last year.

Even Germany’s new government has taken a similar position.

Discussions about allowing climate compensation in the EU goals have led to sharp criticism from civil society. Historically, projects for climate compensation in poor countries have been bordered by criticism for Lack of climate benefit And in some cases on negative effects for the local population, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Association points out Karin Lexén.

– There is a great deal of uncertainty about how effective it is and what risks the projects bring. We believe it is much smarter to invest in climate work at home and thus get competitive advantages in a changeover work that still needs to be done, ”she says.

Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) writes in an email to DN:

« Climate investment in other countries can make it more cost -effective to reach the EU climate goals and contribute to more countries seeing the benefits of sustainable initiatives and starting to reduce their emissions, which is crucial to putting a stop to global warming ».

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