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

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.