Ghana pushes for affordable financing for climate-hit economies

Ghana has reaffirmed its support for the establishment of the V20 Lifeline Fund, a proposed climate-responsive financial facility designed to provide rapid liquidity support to climate-vulnerable economies facing balance-of-payments pressures arising from climate shocks.

Speaking at the Sixth Meeting of the V20 Central Bank Governors Working Group in Bangkok, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, expressed Ghana’s support for the fund and its underlying principles.

He emphasised the urgent need for predictable, affordable and timely financing to prevent climate-induced economic shocks from escalating into deeper macroeconomic and debt crises.

Dr Asiama stressed that the fund should complement existing Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) arrangements and international financing instruments, including those provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), through effective coordination while retaining its distinct focus on climate-induced liquidity pressures.

The Governor called for decisive progress from the design stage to implementation, urging development partners to sustain their support and member countries to expedite the domestic approval processes required to establish the fund.

He also underscored the importance of adequate and reliable capitalisation, effective safeguards and long-term financial sustainability to ensure the facility provides meaningful support when countries need it most.

The Governor was supported by Seidu Issifu, Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability and a member of the CVF-V20 Board, whose engagement reinforced Ghana’s position across its central banking and climate diplomacy platforms.

Their interventions reflected a unified national position, building on Issifu’s advocacy during the V20 leaders’ engagements, where he called for stronger climate-responsive financing, improved access to concessional resources and international backing for the Lifeline Fund, including support from G7 and G20 partners.

The alignment between the Governor and the Minister underscores Ghana’s commitment to practical, country-driven solutions to strengthen economic resilience and protect development gains in climate-vulnerable economies.

Ghana’s support also reinforces the collective V20 effort to establish a member-owned financial safety net that complements existing international financing arrangements rather than replacing them.

The meeting advanced discussions on the fund’s governing instrument, financing arrangements and the next steps towards operationalisation, with the target of completing the instrument ahead of the 2027 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group.