By Kodjo Adams, Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, Sept. 11, GNA – Mrs. Mary A. Addah, Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), stressed the importance of climate change literacy among citizens.
This will ensure that the public adopts environmentally beneficial activities to help end the climate problem.
Mrs. Addah was speaking at the launch and inception meeting on climate change governance and initiatives in Accra.
The meeting was organized by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, with support from the African Centre for Energy Policy.
Sustaining climate governance through social accountability and citizens’ oversight of local climate initiatives seeks to enhance climate governance, transparency, and citizen participation.
Mrs. Addah stated that a lack of climate literacy initiatives had serious consequences for communities, endangering public health and environmental safety.
She stated that climate change literacy could be attained if the gap between stakeholders in that ecosystem and citizens was bridged, emphasizing the importance of making climate change information readily available to citizens.
However, relevant stakeholders, particularly the media, should lead the county’s climate change awareness and education efforts.
“Let us bring this information to the doorstep of the citizens. Let’s make them understand again.
“We need a partnership—a very close partnership—with the media who is at the doorstep of the citizen to be able to engage; otherwise, we will speak our English, and they will not understand,” she said.
Mrs. Addah called for a coordinated and comprehensive climate change communication strategy, stating that such policies would result in a better comprehension of climate change challenges.
She said local climate initiatives would address the gap that had prevented people from participating in climate change discussions.
Mr. Michael Okine, Programme Coordinator of the GII, stated that climate change debate should not be limited to policymakers and civil society organisations, but should also include citizen involvement.
He emphasized that the GII-created climate change platform would be multi-stakeholder, bringing together policymakers, civil society, the commercial sector, traditional authorities, and academics.
GNA