Ghana faces a deadly gap between rising heat and its slow-growing electricity supply - Report

Ghana faces a deadly gap between rising heat and its slow-growing electricity supply, according to a new energy-focused report from the Climate Impact Lab. The report projects about 19 additional heat-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Ghana by 2050, and that the country could see over 4,000 additional heat-related deaths every year by 2050. Researchers say Ghana is among 18 countries caught in what they call a "Mortality-Cooling Trap", places where temperatures are rising fast, but electricity supply isn't growing quickly enough to power cooling devices.

About a third of Ghana's population lives in these high-risk areas. Compared with its neighbours, Ghana's situation is mixed; it is projected to fare better than Burkina Faso (60 additional deaths per 100,000, tied to only a 0.06 GJ/capita rise in electricity) and Togo (32 additional deaths, 0.07 GJ/capita), but worse off than Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. Nigeria is projected to see a 23% increase in electricity consumption (0.07 GJ/capita). Climate-driven temperature changes are on track to contribute to about 430,000 additional deaths every year by 2050 globally. The report finds that access to electricity, especially for cooling, is dangerously unequal.