Tullow, Forestry Commission set to implement joint carbon offset project

Multinational oil and gas company, Tullow, and the Ghana Forestry Commission would start “full-scale implementation” of a joint nature-based carbon offset project, launched earlier this year.

A release copied to Ghana News Agency said the Forestry Commission, supported by Tullow, would “engage stakeholders at both national and regional levels to finalise project details.”

“Key activities will include a comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment, as well as capacity-building programmes to promote sustainable forest management.

“The project, which supports Ghana’s Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Strategy, will conserve and restore approximately 2 million hectares of land in the Bono and Bono East regions and is designed to generate up to one million tonnes of certified carbon offsets annually,” the company said.

Officials say the initiative “is critical to Tullow’s overall net-zero strategies, and the carbon offsets generated from the project, developed under leading certification standards, will be used to mitigate hard-to-abate emissions.”

Julia Ross, Tullow’s Director of People and Sustainability, said the move was part of Tullow’s commitment to “sustainable operations and environmental stewardship.”

“Our investment in this project reinforces our commitment to support forest conservation and create long-term environmental and social benefits for Ghana.

“We see this as the first of many such programmes that will support host nations to meet their development and climate objectives,” he stated.

Tullow said it also “focused on decarbonising its operations by eliminating routine flaring in the short term.