Climate change conference launched
The French government has lauded the government of Ghana for placing a ban on the importation of second-hand fridges.
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According to the French Ambassador for Climate Change in Africa, Indian Ocean and Middle East, Mr Stéphane Gompertz, the move would help to reduce the effects of climate change in Ghana and Africa at large.
In January 2013, Ghana placed a ban on the importation of used refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners.
It followed the implementation of Legislative Instrument (LI) 1932 (2008) which bans the importation of some specified used items.
The move to ban the importation of used fridges came about because of its high energy consumption rate and the danger it posed to the environment.
At a workshop on climate change in Accra, Mr Gompertz said the move was a smart one as it would ensure safety of the environment even though it might trouble low income earners who would find it difficult to purchase new refrigerators.
UN conference on climate change; COP 21
The workshop was organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), to deliberate on this year’s United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP21).
An international climate change conference will be held at the Le Bourget site in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
The conference is projected to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on the climate from all the nations of the world.
According to this year’s organising committee, the objective of the this year’s conference is to achieve for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations a binding and universal agreement on climate from all the nations of the world.
Adoption of new Legal Instrument
Mr Gompertz said the COP 21 conference would seek to adopt a new Legal Instrument (LI) which would impress upon all world leaders to make intensive commitment to end climate change across the globe.
He also indicated that the conference would seek to find out from world leaders what their contributions were, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) that they were making to help resolve the situation.
He expressed his optimism for the success of the conference, indicating the fact that “when we succeed, it’ll be good for all of us.”
France’s preparedness
The French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Frédéric Clavier, expressed his country’s preparedness to host this year’s conference.
He observed that Ghana had a lot of opportunities to resolve the issue of climate change if the necessary plans were put in place.