By Albert Allotey
Accra, July 05, GNA – Madam Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, has called on the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis to deliberate on measures to mitigate the devastating consequences of climate change.
A statement issued by the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) said the Chief Executive made the call when she paid a visit to the Pope at the Vatican during the celebration of the World Environment Day.
She was accompanied by a delegation from Green and Blue, an environmental advocacy group.
Madam Sackey urged more collaboration between the global south and global north cities to tackle climate change urgently.
She said the city of Accra had carried out many activities to implement priority actions in the areas of waste, transport, and energy to address climate change and had contributed to building a resilient and sustainable city.
She stated that Accra had mainstreamed climate actions in its development plan as well as carried out aggressive stakeholder engagements to ensure that no citizens were left behind adding that “inclusivity and equity are key.
“We have started planting trees to control greenhouse gases in the foreseeable future,” she said.
The Pope, in a welcoming address, commended Madam Sackey and the delegation for their commitment to protecting the environment.
He stressed that combating climate change required responsibility from “those who have contributed least to its occurrence” and developing a sense of “responsible cooperation” among everyone.
“Our world is now thoroughly interdependent and cannot allow itself to be divided into blocs of countries that promote their own interests in an isolated or unsustainable way,” Pope Francis said, adding that, “the real enemy is irresponsible behaviour that has profound consequences for every aspect of the lives of men and women of today and tomorrow.”
GNA