The United States Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael S. Regan, has affirmed dedication to assisting Ghana in its efforts to eradicate illegal mining.
He emphasized the significant role of the mining sector in sustaining the supply chain for technological industries and stressed the need for increased attention to it.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the conference for lab and field research on cookstoves at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Cookstove Lab, Michael S. Regan expressed his organization’s readiness to provide expertise to support Ghana’s mining industry.
“We are here in Ghana because we are focused on the development of clean renewable energy. We are focused on ensuring that cookstove technology is the best. We understand that mining feeds the supply chain of some of these newer technologies. We want to share our expertise; we want to share some of the designs around our regulations so that if mining does occur, it will be done in the least intrusive way as much as possible. There is a way to extract these critical minerals without devastating our natural resources.”
Emphasizing his engagement with stakeholders in this quest, he said, “I have spoken with the Minister and the US Ambassador about that. So, EPA has a lot of technical expertise, legal expertise, and regulatory expertise that we are providing to the country of Ghana as you all begin to explore the mining opportunities.”
Michael S. Regan further expressed his excitement about the collaboration with the CSIR in protecting the environment through the Cookstove project.
“We have a partnership and a commitment to ensure that we have the best and most sufficient solution out there. We really care about climate pollution and public health and that the young ladies out there using these stoves are protected and ensuring there are efficient cookstoves out there.”
The cookstove and fuel testing project is aimed at enhancing energy efficiency while protecting the environment.
Dr. Ferdinand Tornyi, a Research Scientist at CSIR asserted that CSIR is keen on ensuring adherence to international best practices with regard to cook stove development, usage, and maintenance to improve service delivery.
“With industrial research leading this, we needed industrial capacity. So EPA is supporting us with that in terms of testing, making sure that when you test a stove or fuel in Ghana lab here, the results will be the same as that of the US. And that is what we hope to achieve”.
