By Emmanuel Gamson
Beyin (W/R), Sept. 1, GNA – The Ghana National Gas Company Limited, Tullow Oil Plc, and Jubilee Partners operating in the Western Nzema enclave have been urged to build climate-resilient infrastructure as a priority to guarantee environmental health safety.
Dr Patrick Ekye Kwesie, the Leader of Western Nzema Youth League, said the activities of those companies were contributing to climate change, which threatened lives and property within their operational zones, hence the need to put in place adequate measures to help tackle such issues.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said gas venting operations were characterized by releasing gases, dangerous particulates, and heat that had adversely affected humans and the environment.
Despite Ghana being a signatory to various climate resilient protocols globally, little effort had been made by those companies to safeguard the environment and livelihoods from dangers associated with climate change, Dr Kwesie said.
“We are surprised that Ghana Gas, Tullow and the Jubilee Partners, the lead aggregators of hydrocarbon infrastructure and a major centre of greenhouse emission gases that are very harmful to human health and the environment, have paid little attention to the dynamics of climate change,” he said.
“…As well as various resilience systems to improve lives and property in their catchment area, particularly Nzema East, Cape Three Point, Ellembelle and Jomoro Area”.
He said those activities had resulted in poor diversity in the environment, air, water and climate resilience systems, posing a threat to national security.
“Recently, we had one of our biggest tourist locations, Nzulezu Stilt Village, submerged in water and Cape Three Point experiencing high rising sea levels, while our beautiful forests are deteriorating. We believe all of these are because of the emergence of oil and gas activities in Western Nzema.”
Dr Kwesie, therefore, appealed to the management of the various companies to collaborate and put in place a robust system to mitigate the effects of climate change caused by their operations.
“We need carbon offset projects such as planting trees, constant data on clean air, and avoiding venting and flaring greenhouse gases like methane and other dangerous emissions,” he noted.
“This will save the ailing agricultural sector, the acid rains and water bodies we have around.”
GNA