By Regina Atule
Damongo (S/R), July 27, GNA – The Office of the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, in partnership with the Global Centre for Climate Mobility, has engaged stakeholders in the Savannah Region to strengthen regional participation and promote collective action to address the impacts of climate change.
The forum, held in Damongo, sought to shape climate policies, identify regional priorities and equip Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) with practical tools and support to develop bankable, investment-ready climate projects.
It also focused on engaging the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and MMDAs on the establishment of a Climate Change and Sustainability Hub and dedicated Climate Change and Sustainability Units at the local government level.
Participants included representatives from the RCC, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, Development Planning Officers and other government agencies.
Mr Seidu Issifu, Minister of State in-charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, said local government authorities were at the forefront of the country’s climate response and must be empowered to implement locally-led solutions.
He said although climate change was a global challenge, its effects on agricultural productivity, infrastructure and water security were mostly experienced at the community level.
Mr Issifu said the government established the Office of the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability to coordinate, mobilise and deploy climate finance towards building a resilient, low-carbon nation and supporting Ghana to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.
He said an Inter-Ministerial and Agency Technical Working Group had been established as a central mechanism to scale up national climate action for greater impact.
Mr Issifu added that his office was working to establish a Climate Change and Sustainability Hub to serve as the national focal point for climate solutions.
He said the office would support MMDAs to create dedicated Climate Change Units, provide technical and financial training, build strategic partnerships and assist in developing climate-resilient plans and budgets to unlock grants and investments.
Mr Salisu Bi-Awuribe, the Savannah Regional Minister, said government’s development investments would not achieve their full potential if the effects of climate change were ignored.
He expressed concern over the indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal production in the region and said MMDAs had been directed to review their by-laws to make illegal tree felling a serious offence with punitive measures for offenders.
Ms Nikki Stoumen, Project Coordinator at the Global Centre for Climate Mobility, said the organisation aimed to partner the Ministry to develop a blueprint to complement Ghana’s existing institutional and policy framework on climate action.
She called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to develop solutions that would prevent further displacement, losses and damages associated with climate change hazards.
Before the forum, the Minister of State in-charge of Climate Change and Sustainability paid a courtesy call on Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale, Overlord of the Gonja Traditional Area, at the Japka Palace in Damongo.
The Global Centre for Climate Mobility is a United Nations-hosted global partnership that supports climate-vulnerable communities to plan for and adapt to climate-induced migration.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh /Audrey Dekalu