Stakeholders trained on climate financing
A capacity-building workshop to enhance climate financing for the agricultural sector has been held in Accra.
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The two-day workshop was also aimed at creating awareness and facilitating discussions on how the agriculture sector could access climate finance, as well as implement climate-resilient practices.
The participants were also taken through the procedure for accessing financial support through existing mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund.
They also shared their experiences and knowledge of agricultural and food transformation in the country.
It was organised by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advisory Unit of the Office of the President and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
Climate financing
The Deputy Director of the SDGs unit, Felix Addai-Yobo, said climate financing was fundamental in the fight against climate change.
He said the workshop demonstrated the government’s commitment to the climate change agenda which he said could be best achieved by collaborating with the private sector and multilateral agencies.
According to Addai-Yobo, the government was working closely with GGGI to identify potential sources of funding mechanisms to access such funds and how to prepare bankable projects for investors to consider.
He, however, urged the public to contribute to the green agenda by being more efficient in the use of water and energy, cutting down on plastic use and investing in recycling and reusing materials.
The Chief Economic Officer of the Ministry of Finance, Adwoa Fraikue, said the country was a member of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change and a party to the Paris Agreement.
In line with that, she said the country had initiated a number of programmes that would lead to mainstreaming of climate change in its economic and financial policies.
“Ghana has gone ahead to develop its projects for implementation.
It is estimated that we shall require between $9.3 billion and $15.5 billion to implement these ambitious programmes outlined in the updated Nationally Determined Contribution documents.
“Out of the total amount, $3.9 billion would be required to implement 16 unconditional programmes over the next seven years,” she added.
More investors
The Africa Director of GGGI, Dr Malle Fofana, said stakeholders needed to understand the complexity of attracting the private sector to support key projects.
He said it was mandatory for countries to shift their attention to green agenda because of the prevailing challenges in the global economy, adding that they must also ensure to integrate climate components in their national strategies.
Dr Fofana expressed the hope that countries would avail themselves to benefit from the experience of the organisation.
