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The battle against the deadly covid-19 pandemic has been convincingly won with the World Health Organization declaration on 5th May 2023 that the covid-19 pandemic was no longer “a public health emergency of international concern”.
The triumph over the pandemic was made possible because of countries deliberate actions and roles everyone had to play in taking care of themselves and loved ones in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The health care personnel, the media, security forces, the schools, the religious leaders and all key stakeholders saw the “fight” against the pandemic as a personal one and rallied solidly behind the government particularly during the lockdown periods.
Sadly, the same alacrity and resolve have not be employed by governments and key stakeholders in the fight against climate change also known as climate variation. It will take collective, significant actions at all levels to preserve the planet and protect our future. This is now the world’s most greatest existential threat.
Anthropogenic climate change which is the type caused by human activities as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of the earth’s natural processes continue to cause irreversible damage to us.
Over the last 50 years drought, flooding, famine, wildfires, melting sea ice, sea level rise, ecosystem stressors where there is likely to be increase in outbreaks of pests, invasive species, and pathogen infects in forests, reduced soil health, food shortages that lead to price hike continue to threaten the very existence of man on the planet.
Air quality is deteriorating as a result of climate change. It increases our exposure to toxic wildfire smoke and ozone smog caused by warmer weather, both of which are harmful to our health, especially for people with pre-existing ailments such as asthma or heart disease.
We see displacement of groups of people due to impacts like food and water scarcity due to climate change and economic instability.
According to the United Nations Global Compact on Refugee, “climate, environmental degradation and disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.” Again, communities with the fewest resources—including those facing political instability and poverty—will feel the effects first and most devastatingly.
A research by Joshua Pearce, a professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and his team on the deadly impact of climate change on human lives have revealed that, ‘’ If global warming reaches or exceeds two degrees Celsius by 2100, it is likely that mainly richer humans will be responsible for the death of roughly one billion mainly poorer humans over the next century’’.
The research further stated that, the oil and gas industry, which includes many of the most profitable and powerful businesses in the world, is directly and indirectly responsible for more than 40% of carbon emissions—impacting the lives of billions of people, many living in the world’s most remote and low-resourced communities.
It is for this reason that there is the urgent need for the more advanced countries to help with global financing to mitigate the challenges affecting the world now and the future.
It also recommends a heightened level of government, corporate and citizen action to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global economy, aiming to minimise the number of projected human deaths.
V20 UPHILL RESOLVE FOR CLIMATE FINANCING
Since its formation in 2015, the Vulnerable Group ,V20 group made up of Ministers of Finance of the Climate Vulnerable economies have come out with is a dedicated cooperation initiative to foster a significant increase of public and private finance for climate action from wide-ranging sources.
The V20 group advocates for increased financing and investment in climate-resilient infrastructure and to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The group membership stands at 48 economies including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haïti, Honduras, Kenya, Kiribati, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam and Yemen.
In the group ‘s press release in April, they stated that “In the last ten years, climate vulnerability has cost V20 countries an additional US$62 billion in interest payments alone, including US$40 billion in additional interest payments on government debt… . Future interest payments due to climate vulnerability are projected to increase to US$168 billion over the next decade. These payments are separate from economic losses directly suffered from climate change, which compound the issue by reducing countries’ ability to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.”
The V20 research shows that 98% of nearly 1.5 billion people in V20 countries do not have financial protection, and since 2000, V20 countries have lost USD 525 billion to climate impacts.
2023 AFRICA CLIMATE SUMMIT
As the World prepares to meet in Nairobi, Kenya for the Africa Climate Summit from 4th to 6th September 2023 under the theme “Driving Green Growth & Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World”, it is important to Key stakeholders to make firm commitment on their fight against climate change.
It offers an opportunity to access the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) of countries in the fight against climate change. The NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Together, these climate actions determine whether the world achieves the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with best available science, so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of GHGs in the second half of this century.
These domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of a more sustainable climate have not yielded the expected results as evidence abound about the devastating impact of climate change on man and animals.
The Africa Climate Summit should not be business as usual where beautiful policies are made, communiques issued and books closed till the next summit. Just like the world came together to fight the covid-19 pandemic, let us all come together with one mind and soul to implement green growth policies. Without the needed will-power, which is the critical step to achieving an objective, climate financing will be a mirage even if the V20 secure all the funding it requires.
Effective policy implementation on climate change should be pursued with the needed seriousness and punitive measures put in place to deter or minimise anthropogenic or human induced climate variations.
The time is ripe for global policy makers on climate change to walk the talk and put in the needed support mechanisms for countries under the mercy of climate change. This Summit should ensure a clear path for financing for countries impacted by actions of other countries in climate change.
There is the need for countries to adopt a clear strategy that carries all key stakeholders on board in the fight against climate change. What role can the media play to ensure that citizen assume the responsibility of protecting the environment?
The government of Ghana has committed to a number of measure that needs commendation. The country has been prioritizing . Ghana has been prioritizing the development and deployment of renewable energy sources. The country has invested in various renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power plants. These efforts aim to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable energy sector.
Again Ghana has also been actively involved in afforestation and reforestation initiatives to combat deforestation and promote carbon sequestration. The implementation of tree-planting programs such as the Greening Ghana Initiative and the Youth in Afforestation Program, which involve planting millions of trees across the country has started producing the expected results of proper vegetation cover. The logistics support to forest guards to man our forest against illegal lumbering needs to be augmented so they could effectively execute that task.
The establishment of National Climate Change Policy, which is an integrated response to climate change. it provides a clearly defined pathway for dealing with the challenges of climate change within the current socio-economic context of Ghana, and looks ahead to the opportunities and benefits of a green economy.
A lot has been achieved by government buy more commitments are needed from policy makers in our fight against galamsey and illegal lumbering.
In conclusion, as the world meets to discuss ways of greening the planet, let us all ponder on the quote of Joshua Pearce, a professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada ‘’the harm we are doing to children and future generations can increasingly be attributed to our actions,”.
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