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Innovative Climate Finance in Ghana: A Systematic Review of Green Bonds, Blended Finance, and Climate Funds

Author

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  • Prince Nartey Menzo, Benjamin
  • Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel
  • Prempeh, Kwadwo Boateng

Abstract

This systematic review investigates the potential of innovative climate finance instruments, specifically green bonds, blended finance, and international climate funds, to support Ghana’s climate resilience goals without compromising fiscal sustainability. Drawing on literature from 2000 to 2025 and guided by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), Sustainable Development Finance Theory, and Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), the study synthesises evidence from academic articles, policy documents, and institutional reports. The findings indicate that although these instruments offer strategic pathways for mobilising investment and diversifying Ghana’s financing mix, their effectiveness is undermined by regulatory fragmentation, limited institutional capacity, and procedural inefficiencies. Green bonds are constrained by governance and disclosure gaps, blended finance suffers from weak coordination and legal ambiguities, and access to international climate funds is hindered by administrative bottlenecks. The review’s originality lies in its integration of fiscal sustainability and climate finance through a multi-theoretical lens, offering a novel synthesis of how Ghana can strategically scale climate finance amid debt constraints. To enhance the impact of these mechanisms, the study recommends a comprehensive green finance framework, institutional reform, and integration of climate-risk assessments into public financial management systems. This work contributes to bridging research and policy by outlining actionable reforms and calling for econometric research to evaluate fiscal-environmental outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Prince Nartey Menzo, Benjamin & Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel & Prempeh, Kwadwo Boateng, 2025. "Innovative Climate Finance in Ghana: A Systematic Review of Green Bonds, Blended Finance, and Climate Funds," MPRA Paper 124517, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Mar 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124517
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rishikesh Ram Bhandary & Kelly Sims Gallagher & Fang Zhang, 2021. "Climate finance policy in practice: a review of the evidence," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 529-545, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate finance; green bonds; blended finance; Ghana; debt sustainability; environmental policy; fiscal resilience; systematic review;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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