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 21^st 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 26^th 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.