Dr. Joseph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu is a highly experienced Energy Expert from Ghana, with extensive expertise in Sustainable Energy Planning, Climate Change negotiations, and Policy Development. He has over three (3) decades of experience, having served as the Director for Strategic Planning and Policy at the Ghana Energy Commission from 1989 to 2020.
During his tenure, he led the development of long-term energy plans, natural gas market forecasts, and the country’s first Strategic National Energy Plan (SNEP 2006-2020). As a key player in Ghana’s Energy Sector, he also contributed to the development of energy access projections and led the team that formulated environmental guidelines for the sector.
Dr. Joesph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu has been a member of Ghana’s negotiating team at the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference since 2005, playing a significant role in Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
In addition to his professional career, Joesph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu has made significant contributions to academia. He has been a lecturer at the Institute for Oil and Gas Studies at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, since 2021. Prior to this, he was a Burns Visiting Scholar at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, in 2014-2015, and a Ford Foundation Visiting Scholar at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2016.
From 2011 to 2018, he served as an Adjunct Lecturer on Energy and Environment at the Ghana Institute of Local Government Studies and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology. He also facilitated and taught climate change courses at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Ghana from 2012 to 2017. Additionally, he mentored students at the International Summer School on Energy Systems (ISES) in Germany from 2014 to 2018.
Dr. Joesph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Ghana Science Association (since 2019), the International Solar Energy Society (ISES, since 1987), the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE, since 2009), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE, since 1996), where he served on the IEEE Ghana Section Executive Committee from 2019 to 2020 and 2021 to 2022. His work has positioned him as a respected figure in both the national and global energy landscape, particularly in natural gas development and energy policy.
Beyond his professional and academic endeavors, Dr. Joesph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu is deeply involved in community and educational initiatives. He has served as the Chair of the Education and Scholarship Committee at the Glory Assemblies of God Church in Sakumono Estates, Tema, since 2011. And is a Board Member of several Institutions, including the Civil Society Coalition for AfCFTA (since 2019), AECC Remedial College, and Banyani, an NGO focused on green development. His dedication to societal development is reflected in his contributions to various educational institutions and his efforts to promote green development and opportunities for the youth.
Dr. Joesph Kow Essandoh-Yeddu is married and has six (6) children, balancing his professional achievements with a strong family commitment.