A clarion call to World leaders to implement the UN Convention on Climate Change.
By Joyce Gyekye, a Journalist.
For the 26th time, World Leaders are meeting to renew their commitment to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC which started in Kyoto Japan in 1997. It is aimed at reducing the effect of climate change that was discussed during the Rio Summit in 1992. At the Kyoto Summit, leaders signed onto a legally binding document to reducing greenhouse gases by the year 2020. Five years for that protocol to elapse, there was the need to continue the international dialogue on climate change. This led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement during the 21st Conference of parties to the UNFCCC in 2015.The Paris Agreement unlike Kyoto set out a target to reduce global temperature to 1-point-5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, countries had to come out with how they were going to reduce their greenhouse gas emission, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, NDC’S. The Paris Agreement indicated the revision of NDC’s every five years and communicated it to the Convention. This is what countries are presenting at the 26th Conference of the UNFCCC at Glasgow dubbed COP26.
Ghana however needs $15.5 billion of investment to implement her NDC’s in the next decade. The amount will be used in mitigation and adaptation programmes in areas like lowering deforestation and landscape restoration, promoting clean electricity mobility and scaling up penetration of renewable energy and sustainable energy transition among others. At the on-going Conference, Ghana will open its doors to the world and showcase what is being done and learn from others during Ghana Day on the 10th of November, 2021
Ghana, like most developing countries, is already experiencing the effects of the weather phenomenon in the agricultural sector in the form of low crop yield as a result of low soil nutrient, compelling the use of more fertilizers whose misapplication leads to health problems and chemical run-offs into rivers. The increasing use of pesticides as a result of insect invasion like the Fall Army Worm are all as a result of climate change. The impact of this weather phenomenon has a huge toll on the economy considering the agrarian nature of the country. It threatens to reduce the county’s second foreign exchange earner, as 75% of cocoa will be of land will be enviable with the 1-point 5 degrees temperature rise. The fishing industry that serves as the main income earner for communities along the coast is also in crisis. It is against this background that our experts at the conference have to engage their peers at the continental level to negotiate more funds for adaptation to the weather phenomenon as countries put in place mitigation measures like keeping our forests to serve as carbon sinks. As Heads of state end their two day summit today they have pledged to end deforestation by 2030. This will require $ 19.2 billion. Apart from that, 28 countries will also commit to removing deforestation from the global trade of food and other agricultural products such as palm oil, soya and cocoa. These agreements will be in the interest of the country. The question Is how fast will these agreements be put into action. The G20 Developed Countries in 2010 pledged 100 million dollars annually to support developing countries to address climate change till 2020. They could not fulfill this promise entirely and have now postponed the fulfillment date to 2023. The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC and the World Health Organization, point out that the world is instead of heading for 1.5 degree goal is increasing temperature to 2.7. This is a disaster waiting. With politicians interested in votes , skeptics believe this conference will be another talk shop. But what was predicted by scientists that led to the first environment summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and subsequent reports are being visible. The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC and the WHO point out that the world is instead of heading for 1.5 degree goal is increasing temperature rise to 2.7. This is a disaster waiting. It has taken centuries to arrive at the current problem and according to the IPCC Report 2018, that was released in August 2021it will take a long time to see change following the current trend of emission. In view of this, educating children about climate change now is very important.
As communities impacted by the weather phenomenon count their losses, it is critical for them to heed to practices that will address their plight while local authorities also implement actions that will mitigate the effects on the people. With politicians interested in votes , skeptics believe this conference will be another talk shop. The only way to get politicians to walk the talk, is for electorates to make climate issues a voting issue by demanding action.
By: Joyce Gyekye, a Journalist.
Related
Implement the UN Convention on Climate Change
A clarion call to World leaders to implement the UN Convention on Climate Change.
By Joyce Gyekye, a Journalist.
For the 26th time, World Leaders are meeting to renew their commitment to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC which started in Kyoto Japan in 1997. It is aimed at reducing the effect of climate change that was discussed during the Rio Summit in 1992. At the Kyoto Summit, leaders signed onto a legally binding document to reducing greenhouse gases by the year 2020. Five years for that protocol to elapse, there was the need to continue the international dialogue on climate change. This led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement during the 21st Conference of parties to the UNFCCC in 2015.The Paris Agreement unlike Kyoto set out a target to reduce global temperature to 1-point-5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, countries had to come out with how they were going to reduce their greenhouse gas emission, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, NDC’S. The Paris Agreement indicated the revision of NDC’s every five years and communicated it to the Convention. This is what countries are presenting at the 26th Conference of the UNFCCC at Glasgow dubbed COP26.
Ghana however needs $15.5 billion of investment to implement her NDC’s in the next decade. The amount will be used in mitigation and adaptation programmes in areas like lowering deforestation and landscape restoration, promoting clean electricity mobility and scaling up penetration of renewable energy and sustainable energy transition among others. At the on-going Conference, Ghana will open its doors to the world and showcase what is being done and learn from others during Ghana Day on the 10th of November, 2021
Ghana, like most developing countries, is already experiencing the effects of the weather phenomenon in the agricultural sector in the form of low crop yield as a result of low soil nutrient, compelling the use of more fertilizers whose misapplication leads to health problems and chemical run-offs into rivers. The increasing use of pesticides as a result of insect invasion like the Fall Army Worm are all as a result of climate change. The impact of this weather phenomenon has a huge toll on the economy considering the agrarian nature of the country. It threatens to reduce the county’s second foreign exchange earner, as 75% of cocoa will be of land will be enviable with the 1-point 5 degrees temperature rise. The fishing industry that serves as the main income earner for communities along the coast is also in crisis. It is against this background that our experts at the conference have to engage their peers at the continental level to negotiate more funds for adaptation to the weather phenomenon as countries put in place mitigation measures like keeping our forests to serve as carbon sinks. As Heads of state end their two day summit today they have pledged to end deforestation by 2030. This will require $ 19.2 billion. Apart from that, 28 countries will also commit to removing deforestation from the global trade of food and other agricultural products such as palm oil, soya and cocoa. These agreements will be in the interest of the country. The question Is how fast will these agreements be put into action. The G20 Developed Countries in 2010 pledged 100 million dollars annually to support developing countries to address climate change till 2020. They could not fulfill this promise entirely and have now postponed the fulfillment date to 2023. The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC and the World Health Organization, point out that the world is instead of heading for 1.5 degree goal is increasing temperature to 2.7. This is a disaster waiting. With politicians interested in votes , skeptics believe this conference will be another talk shop. But what was predicted by scientists that led to the first environment summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and subsequent reports are being visible. The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC and the WHO point out that the world is instead of heading for 1.5 degree goal is increasing temperature rise to 2.7. This is a disaster waiting. It has taken centuries to arrive at the current problem and according to the IPCC Report 2018, that was released in August 2021it will take a long time to see change following the current trend of emission. In view of this, educating children about climate change now is very important.
As communities impacted by the weather phenomenon count their losses, it is critical for them to heed to practices that will address their plight while local authorities also implement actions that will mitigate the effects on the people. With politicians interested in votes , skeptics believe this conference will be another talk shop. The only way to get politicians to walk the talk, is for electorates to make climate issues a voting issue by demanding action.
By: Joyce Gyekye, a Journalist.
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