GMet launches Green Climate clubs in Tamale - Seeks to build students’ capacity on climate change
The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has launched an initiative to sensitise students in second-cycle institutions to climate change adaptation and associated mitigation measures.
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Dubbed: "Green Climate Change Club", the initiative seeks to form student climate change clubs and ignite climate change discussions among students.
It will also equip the students with the knowledge and skills required to help address the consequences of climate change in the country.
The initiative is being initiated in collaboration with the sector ministry of the agency, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, and the Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme (GASIP).
Launch
Speaking at the launch of the initiative in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, yesterday, the acting Director-General of the GMet, Eric Essuman, said the initiative formed part of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change on the environment.
"The clubs will serve as a platform for students to learn about climate change and how they can contribute to maintaining a climate-friendly environment,” he said.
The aim was to equip them to become ambassadors for climate action, not only in their schools but also their homes and communities, he added.
Mr Essuman explained that the clubs were mandated to undertake activities such as gardening, tree planting and awareness creation among their peers and also implement sustainable climate-friendly solutions.
Commitment
For her part, a Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa, reiterated the government's commitment to address issues relating to climate change.
To that end, she said, it had introduced the Climate Change Learning Strategy (CCLS) initiative aimed at introducing climate change lessons into the curriculum of basic schools in the country to improve children’s knowledge and influence positive behaviour towards the environment.
She added that since 2018, the government had provided 14 automatic weather stations (AWS), collaboration equipment, 15 operational vehicles, message switching systems, among others, for the GMet to help improve its operations.
Commendation/advice
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, commended the GMet for the intervention, saying that the formation of the clubs was an important step towards addressing the country’s environmental challenges.
He said the region had experienced an irregular rainfall pattern and protracted droughts, which had had an impact on food security and brought economic hardships on many communities, adding that intense heat waves were prevalent in the area, leading to an increase in ailments related to heat.
Mr Shaibu, therefore, advised students to be ambassadors of the environment, as their future was anchored on a good environment.
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