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Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic, has reiterated Ghana’s desire to pressure COP27 to fulfill its pledge to double funding for climate adaptation initiatives on the continent.
The President declared that “it is time to translate words into deeds and aspirations into reality.
People all over the world will be watching the decision-makers at COP27 with the world in ruins and under water.
If they want to avoid being condemned by history, they must deliver.
He had the opinion that, in addition to “making economic sense,” financing climate adaptation is significantly more cost-effective than paying bills as they become due for increasingly frequent and severe climate shocks and disasters.
The result of this, he continued, will be that “Ghana stands to lose out to the effects of more acute and frequent climatic hazards as a middle-income country.
Despite the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme’s (AAAP) remarkable advancements on the climate emergency.
On September 5, 2022, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, at the Virtual Climate Adaptation Summit, the President made this statement.
We are conscious of the current geopolitical situation, President Akufo-Addo remarked in his opening remarks.
Global food and energy security is in jeopardy, inflation is rising quickly, and climate change threatens the advancements we have made, particularly in Africa.
Africa is still suffering as a result of COVID-19, which caused the region’s first recession in about twenty-five (25) years.
He continued that, “some twenty-six million (26 million) people fell into extreme poverty, and thirty million (30 million) jobs were lost due to the repercussions of the pandemic in Africa.”
“My country, Ghana, is attempting to use her own fiscal resources to address these risks. The same is true for other African countries. However, the growing food and fuel crises are limiting severely our fiscal space to respond effectively, as the cost of borrowing goes up prohibitively, and access to the capital market tightens dramatically,” he added.
Stating further that, “Africa contributes the least to the climate emergency, yet we are facing increasing and more intense climate-related extreme events. We are at a crossroads. If we want our continent to thrive, we have to adapt to climate change. And, to achieve this, adaptation financing needs to start flowing at scale. Climate action must not become another casualty of the complex geopolitical era that we are experiencing”.
Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme
President Akufo-Addo was confident that, “the AAAP, with its laser focus on food security, resilient infrastructure, climate finance, and youth employment, is Africa’s solution to the multiple crises we face.
“The programme intends to mobilise some twenty-five billion dollars ($25 billion) over five (5) years to scale up and accelerate adaptation action. The African Development Bank has, in a truly laudable gesture, committed to providing half of this amount. This is evidence that Africa has the leadership and determination to engage in solutions to her problems”
But he quickly added, “Africa needs its allies from around the world to step up their assistance for practical adaptation solutions, given through the AAAP.
We anticipate that these allies will demonstrate their support and friendship by providing the other half, just as we think the developed world should fulfill its $100 billion (US) commitment to climate adaptation.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
