The environmental repercussions of extensive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on the environment are crucial for policymakers and scholars. The repercussions of and connection between economic growth (ECG), tourism (TOUR), and foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emission mitigation have been measured and argued from empirical and theoretical perspectives by scholars. Notwithstanding, the extant body of knowledge has failed to incorporate and investigate the function of governance in decarbonizing tourism activities and FDI from CO2 emissions to attain a healthy and quality environment in Africa. Hence, this current research investigates governance’s role in the reduction processes of CO2 emissions grounded in environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) conceptual assumptions for panel data spanning 2000 through 2020 for 27 African countries. This research utilized the Westerlund panel cointegration approach for the investigation of the cointegration of the selected variables. This study applied the Driscoll–Kraay regression approach for the long-term estimation. In addition, the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and the pooled mean group (PMG) were used for robustness checks. The findings of this research indicated that the governance (GOV) indicators employed have a statistically significant effect on the CO2 emission reduction. Besides, this study found that the appreciation of the income of the nations gives credence to the formation of the EKC theory and contributes to the decline in CO2 emissions within the selected African nations. The findings revealed that tourism, FDI, ECG, and GOV are positive and significant factors leading to increased CO2 emissions in Africa. Furthermore, the results showed that effective governance and control of FDI inflows and tourism activities can support decarbonization. These findings suggest the merits of governance in ensuring effective decarbonization policies of the environment, and policy suggestions are accordingly put forward.

Addressing undesirable changes associated with the driving forces of land use cover change are critical to sustainable land management, and the future modeling of land use systems in developing countries. The study accentuates local drivers of land use cover change in Southwestern Ghana using a mixed-method approach. The approach aided in identifying key land-use drivers, using different research strategies for comparisons through confidence level analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process. We used expert interviews, existing literature and geostatistical tools to ascertain the driving forces triggering such unprecedented changes. Landsat imagery 5 MSS, 4 and 5 TM, 7 ETM + and 8 OLI/TIRS were acquired from the United States Geological Survey’s website. Land-use analysis revealed a decline in forests (− 82.41%) and areas covered by waterbodies (− 27.39%). A fundamental drift in built-up (+ 1288.36%) and farmlands/shrubs (+ 369.81%) areas were also observed. The contribution rate of change analysis revealed built-environment and increasing population contributed the most to surface temperature and land-use change. A steady increase in surface temperature can be attributed to the undesirable changes associated with land-use systems over the past 50 years. Socio-economic development in Southwestern Ghana is fuelling interest in studies related to land use cover change. Biophysical, cultural and technological factors are considered key drivers despite the “medium-to-very low confidence” in results generated. They could potentially impact climate-sensitive sectors that significantly modify land-use systems from the pessimists’ and optimists’ perspectives. Standpoints established through this study will enrich basic datasets for further studies at the continental level. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12665-022-10481-y.

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This study discusses the steps and initiatives the government of Ghana is adopting to incorporate mechanization systems in agriculture to alleviate poverty. The relevance of mechanization and its adoption for farming systems has been the priority of the Ghanaian populace. However, few countries with high technologies are assisting the nation with their modern trend of food production and food security systems. Findings demonstrated that agribusiness accounts for 60% of Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65% of its employment, and 50% of its exports. This study employed content analysis methodology to achieve its goal. Though, without hesitation, agricultural mechanization has immense potential for increased agricultural output and enhanced farmer standard of living. Notwithstanding, there have been a couple of issues affecting farm mechanization in Ghana. First, mechanization is hampered by farm owners' small size and dispersed holdings. Second, most local farm owners are impoverished and unable to afford expensive machinery such as tractors and combined harvesters. Therefore, Ghana counts on BRI and other international organizations to collaborate with Ghana by providing affordable mechanization equipment, alleviating its infrastructural deficit and poverty levels.