EPA unveils climate ambassadors
The government has launched an initiative — Climate Ambassadors Programme, to help tackle global climate crises.
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It forms part of the country's Climate Change National Adaptation Planning (NAP), a strategic programme that uses influencers from key institutions and associations to build political momentum for effective adaptation.
It is also targeted at creating awareness of climate change at all levels and a drive for accessing climate finance both locally and internationally. The acting Executive Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr John Kingsley Krugu, inaugurated a seven-member team of ambassadors in Accra yesterday.
They were selected from key stakeholders such as traditional rulers, faith-based organisations (FBOs), including the Office of the Chief Imam and the Christian Council of Ghana; security agencies, local government institutions, and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The members are the Akwamuhene, Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Badu; the General-Secretary of the GJA, Kofi Yeboah; the General-Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr Cyril Fayose; Lt Col Sena Affanyi and the Chief Imam's Special Aide, Dr Abubakari Mohammed Marzuq.
Context
Ghana became a signatory to the United Convention on Climate Change in 1992. The partners include the EPA and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) focal institution for coordinating climate change in Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI).
Since 2018, the EPA has been coordinating the NAP process that seeks to develop a consolidated plan for vertical and horizontal integration. One of the key pillars of the NAP process is the climate ambassadors’ initiative, which leverages the influence of key stakeholders to promote climate action.
Mandate
The ambassadors are expected to project the need for cross-sectoral climate change adaptation planning and implementation in Ghana; highlight progress on adaptation planning at both national and sub-national levels, and influence sectoral project planning and implementation to integrate adaptation plans across all levels.
They would also project opportunities and resources needed for equitable planning implementation processes; advocate enhanced gender issues in climate action at all levels and help to sustain momentum on climate change adaptation on media platforms.
Collective action
Dr Krugu said climate change was redefining the global socio-economic agenda and that countries needed to pay attention to interventions that would promote adaptation to the crisis to ensure sustainable development.
He said given that climate change had ravaging impact across sectors, it was important for stakeholders to collaborate to implement cross-cutting interventions to respond to the crisis.
"The ravages of climate change are real and evident in the droughts, flooding, higher temperatures we experience. It remains the greatest threats to achieving the sustainable development goals, and we must work to address it," Dr Krugu said.
The Coordinator of NAP, Dr Antwi Boasiako Amoah, said the ambassador initiative was crucial to climate action as it ensured the deployment of a multifaceted approach to tackling the crisis.
He urged the ambassadors to work together in a coordinated manner to help mobilise both material and human resources for climate action, particularly adaptation.
