The World Bank has announced a whopping US$3.3 billion as part of the financial package in supporting Ghana to address climate change and build resilience in the climate space.
With the right measures and a comprehensive framework put in place, Ghana can turn the challenges of climate change into opportunities”, the World Bank indicated, adding that Ghana has demonstrated and made significant impact on climate issues over the past three decades but have fallen as a result of COVID-19 and current global economic crisis.
According to the World Bank there have been series of engagements in programmes such as disaster risk management, urban development, land scape management, forestry, water supply, social protection, food systems among others in the bid to support disaster preparedness.
As part of the climate change Action Plan 2021 to 2025, the World have scaled up its commitment to the climate agenda”, the WBG noted and expressed further that it has aligned all projects to the Paris Agreement by the end of this year.
World Bank Country Director, Pierre Laporte made this assertion at the launch of World Bank Group Country Climate Change Development Report in Accra.
The report is aimed at helping countries to take urgent steps that can foster a resilient and low carbon development pathway and to deal with concrete and phased actions to support the transition to resilient development.
He explained that Ghana’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is inadequate pointing out that emissions on a per capita basis at 24% of the global average saying that with less action taken, the country will experience setbacks in the economy particularly poverty due to climate challenges as incomes will drastically reduce by up to 40% for household.
The country in this regard must take urgent steps to restore macroeconomic stability and funds from various sources as such as the private and development finance” he said.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor in an address said the report is timely and requires urgent attention particularly at the time fervent preparations are been worked out towards the COPP27 in Egypt.
According to him, the report will be studied thoroughly and forms part of the ministry mandate to step up its effort to address climate change.
Climate change crisis is reaching a turning point which requires all stakeholders to collectively come together in the climate environment to collectively work together to address it”, he said.
For his part the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta commended the World Bank for the report and urged institutions which are climate related to exhibit many commitments by addressing issues on climate change.
He said stakeholders must put up a roadmap to safeguard climate related challenges to relive countries from total destruction.
Source: Ben LARYEA