Human irresponsibility has created climate change situation – Sheikh Abban

Sheikh Yacoub Abban, General Secretary, Al Sunna Wa Jamaa, on Tuesday said the irresponsible attitude of some Ghanaians towards the environment was partly the cause of changes in rainfall and weather patterns being experienced these days.

“Today you can’t discern or tell whether we are in the rainy season or in the dry season all because of climate change,” he added.

He said this during an interview at the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) follow-up consultation on climate justice and sustainable peace in Africa and programmme for Christian – Muslim relations in Accra.

Speaking on the topic: Climate Change Reflection Based on the Quran, he said there was the need for human to conserve and preserve the earth’s natural resources to ensure its sustenance for all other creatures.

The two day international interfaith conference, which opened on Tuesday, would seek among others things to discuss the role faith based organisations can play in climate change adaptation and mitigation; challenges faced by churches and mosques in climate mitigation and adaptation and to seek the extent the churches and mosques have been working on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Sheikh Abban said the time was ripe for people to rethink their ways and attitude towards the environment to avoid bringing destruction upon themselves.

He said there was the urgent desire to mitigate the effects of climate change in order to forestall future dangers by minimising the effects of green house gas emission and the depletion of the forest vegetation.

Most Rev Dr Robert Aboagye – Mensah, AACC Vice-President for West Africa, said the AACC would mobilise and engage faith leaders in Africa to use their moral authority to communicate messages that not only gave hope to the affected and the vulnerable communities to take grass-root action on mitigation but also convince global leadership to be sensitive of the plight of climate change victims and accelerate action for mitigation.

Rev Godwin Osiakwa, Clerk of the General Assembly, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, said “the depletion of our immediate atmospheric cover has now reached alarming proportions and climate scientists have warned that if nothing is done to reduce the emission of these poisonous gases, all forms of life on earth will be adversely affected”.

He said climate change is a direct result of human activity due to global warming caused by increased amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

“The tragic irony of it is that the countries which have done least to cause climate change are those that suffer, most from its impact,” he said.

Mr Oppong Kyekyeku, Chief Programme Officer, United Nations Framework on Climate Change, said there was the need for the judicious use of natural resources saying more needed to be done to reduce green house gas emission.

He said government was actively promoting afforestation programs in an effort to help address the climate change phenomenon.

Source: GNA