What Ghana’s Climate Plans Are Missing: The Informal Sector

The Smoke We Don’t See
Our daily routine included burning tons of cables to extract the metals in them. But what we would also do every few days as part of our work was to pile up the plastic components of electronics, including the foamy part of fridges, the plastic cases of televisions and monitors, car tires and other plastics in general that were considered hard and burn them. Releasing tons of fume into the atmosphere. We did this, genuinely believing we were cleaning the environment. But I have since learnt in school that the smoke we burnt away goes a long way to destroy the ozone; something many of my friends in Agbogbloshie would never learn if they are not included in the climate change conversations.

Yet, for all of Ghana’s ambitions to combat climate change, the informal sector — where I come from — remains largely invisible in our national climate agenda. Ghana is widely recognized as a leader in climate policy in Africa. It was among the first countries to submit its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and the country has also launched a comprehensive National Climate Change Policy (NCCP). But despite these achievements, there is a missing link: the thousands of people in places like Agbogbloshie who contribute unknowingly to emissions but are excluded from both the benefits and responsibilities of climate action.

Invisible in Policy, Visible in Impact

Ghana’s National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) was launched in 2013 to ensure a climate-resilient and low carbon economy. It outlines five key themes: agriculture and food security, disaster preparedness, natural resource management, energy innovation, and inclusive social development. Yet nowhere in this ambitious plan is there a mention of the informal sector, particularly those of us in the e-waste and scrap business. This is troubling because we are not just part of the problem; we are also part of the solution.

Many of the environmental hazards associated with improper waste management could be addressed by integrating informal workers into formal systems. Thousands of us who worked in places like Agbogbloshie contributed, knowingly or unknowingly, to Ghana’s emissions data, through burning, dumping, or salvaging materials. We were recycling long before it became a policy buzzword. But instead of being trained, supported, or equipped with safer technologies, we were criminalized, stigmatized, and pushed further to the margins.

A closer look at Ghana’s Climate Commitment

Ghana’s 2021 NDC sets ambitious targets of reducing emissions by 64 MtCO₂e and creating over one million climate jobs by 2030. But its action plan centers on formal institutions, NGOs, and community cooperatives. While it promises to include “non‑state actors” through new EPA reporting tools, the country’s most visible climate actors informal recyclers burning wires and plastics are still absent. These are the youth already mitigating pollution under dangerous conditions, yet the plan fails to link them with support or recognition.

A case for inclusion

As Ghana works to meet its climate goals, we cannot afford to exclude the very people whose daily realities are tied to the environmental crisis. Informal waste workers may lack formal education, but they hold valuable knowledge and bear the heaviest burdens of pollution and climate risk. If we are serious about achieving a just transition and a sustainable future, climate policy must be grounded in inclusiveness — not just in words, but in practice. This means education, funding, and a seat at the decision-making table for informal actors, especially those in waste recovery and recycling.