Ghana’s draft policy document on climate change sent to government

A  draft National Climate Change policy to provide strategic direction in the country’s fight against climate change has been presented to government.

The implementation of document would be shared responsibly between government and the stakeholders.

The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayitey speaking at the ceremony said, though climate change had its relevance in the national Share Growth and Development Agenda, the absence of a blueprint had serious national implications.

This, she said had rendered major economic sector vulnerable to climate change sensibility with potentially huge detrimental economic and social impacts.

“It is this light that we need to have a national climate change policy in place to ensure that the vulnerable in the society as well as the weak ecosystems are protected from the impact of climate change and not burdened with the cost of response measures, ‘’ she added.

Ms Ayittey stated that recent studies had shown that Ghana had the highest rate of deforestation after Togo and Nigeria as a result of illegal felling of trees.

She said while some culprits had been caught by the law, the fortunate ones had never been caught while others were sometimes deliberately let go by guardians of the law.

The minister warned that the country risk starvation, drought and unemployment if the rate at which the country’s forest reserved were being depleted were not checked. ‘’I wonder what would become of the country’s forest areas in the next 50 years when over 2.19 per cent of forest are lost annually, ‘’ she added.

The chairman of the National Climate Change Committee, Edward Osei  Nsenkyire disclosed that the document contain the impact of climate change on the country and pragmatic steps to address them. He commended the 20- member committee for its dedication and commitment to work.

Source: Ghanaian Times