Climate Justice: balancing deforestation for developing and maintaining food security in Ghana to mitigate global warming with fairness

Ghana is a developing country with 8 million hectares of forest cover, 35% of the total land. Based on the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), Ghana has been committed to reducing its emissions by 15% and 30% if external funds exist. This policy seems good but would harm Ghana's development and food security. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate Ghana's decision making in NDCs and recommend a policy for mitigating global warming without prejudicing developed countries, especially Ghana. This research uses spatial analysis with a time series of forest cover in Ghana and economic analysis with a literature review. SWOT analysis was also conducted to complement this research. This research shows that Ghana's carbon emission per capita is only 0.62 metric tons, while the world's average carbon emission per capita is 4.54 metric tons. It is unfair for Ghana to hold up its development to decrease its carbon emission, which is already 80% lower than the world's average carbon emission per capita, and Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is only USD 2,500 . Furthermore, the results show that Ghana's agricultural land area is only 4% of its total land, while the world’s average agricultural land area is 38%. The extensification of agricultural land still needs to be completed to fulfill food security in Ghana, as the population keeps increasing every year, reaching almost 34 million people in 2024. This research recommends that climate justice needs to be served. Ghana's development must not be sacrificed, and the decision maker must have the courage to reject potentially detrimental policies. The policy of NDCs needs to be re-evaluated and revised. To achieve climate change mitigation with fairness, every country needs to emit their emission with a specific number. Climate change mitigation will become an endless debate if not appointed and managed.