The Copenhagen talks on climate change

Ghana to spearhead Africa's position
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, October 21, 2009


By Charles Takyi-Boadu

The government of Ghana is to spearhead a strong African voice at the Copenhagen talks on climate change, which is seven weeks away. The move is to signal the seriousness of climate change issues as they affect Africa and other vulnerable countries in the third world.
This was disclosed by Mr. Rudolph Kuuzegh, the Director of Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), on behalf of the sector Minister, Hon. Sherry Ayittey at a high-level policy dialogue on climate change in Accra yesterday.

The event, which was put together by SEND-Ghana, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), in collaboration with Christian Aid and the World Wide Fund (WWF) under the theme -‘Voice and Vision on Climate’, was the third in the series of advocacy initiatives undertaken by the NGO to ensure proper government preparations towards Climate Change Conference, which is slated for Copenhagen in December.

“Government will also push for clean and renewable energy projects, and payments for carbon-storing ecosystems”, he noted.

According to him, such a deal must come with substantial financial mechanism to benefit poor and vulnerable countries, to enable them respond to climate change in the areas of water resources, agriculture, health, infrastructure, biodiversity and ecosystems, forest, urban management, tourism, food and energy security and management of coastal and marine resources.

Meanwhile, studies undertaken by the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that “climate change appears abstract, perhaps not an immediate concern of the politician, who has a short time to show physical results.” For this reason, government is set to provide leadership on climate change.

As a first move to whip up political interest on the issues, Vice President John Dramani Mahama is set to chair a new Environment and Natural Resources Council (ENRC), which will consider climate change a priority.

That notwithstanding, the sector Ministry has mandated a multi-sectoral National Climate Change Committee to advice government on appropriate actions at the national and international levels. In connection with the Copenhagen Climate Change talks, Mr. Kuuzegh says government and the Ministry is committed to engage with civil society in the run-up to the talks and beyond.

This is to ensure that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have the space to complement the implementation of the outcome and national response measures to improve social accountability in the country.

The Corporate Policy and Strategy Manager at the Department for International Development (DFID), Helen Sharkey said there has been a trend of increasing temperature, by about 0.2°C per decade in Ghana whilst in contrast rainfall has been decreasing by about 5% per decade in the country.

Whilst frequency of extreme flood events is increasing, she noted that drought is already a problem in some parts of the country with the coastal zones and marine ecosystems being affected by storm surges and sea level rise.

She thus noted that climate projections for Ghana indicate annual mean temperature increases of between 2.2°C and 3.5°C by 2080 whilst temperature increases will be most marked during the dry season in central areas of the country.

According to her, rainfall may marginally increase by 2080, stressing “however, this is contradicted by decreasing rainfall trends experienced over the last decades.”

Country Director of SEND-Ghana, Samuel Zan Akologo is thus optimistic that the high-level policy dialogue will bring clear understanding of government’s position for the Copenhagen conference and emerging national response to climate change, provide opportunity for civil society perspectives and pave way for post-Copenhagen engagement with government on climate change.