Limited Capacities of Local Governments to Implement National Climate Policies: Evidence from Ghana’s New Juaben South Municipality
Copyright (c) 2026 Ama Kissiwah Boateng
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This paper highlights how secondary cities, often overlooked in climate governance literature, face distinct implementation challenges compared to capital cities, yet play a key role in Ghana’s overall climate response. Utilising qualitative data in the form of interviews and document analysis it identifies significant barriers, including budgetary allocations, conflicting political priorities and weak organizational capacity at the municipal level.
The paper concludes that effective climate action in these municipalities depends on establishing robust systems for local climate data collection and analysis, which currently remain underdeveloped. Additionally, integrating climate action into core local government functions, rather than treating it as a standalone initiative, is essential for sustainable urban development in Ghana’s rapidly growing urban centres.
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