Empowerment for Life Programme (E4L) is urging the government to prioritise investment in local climate change actions to kill down the effects of drought, dry spell, food security as COP 29 opens in Azerbaijan.
In a statement signed by Andul-Jabaru Mohammed, Programme Manager, Empowerment for Life Programme, on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, it noted that “Cimate change is having widespread and severe impact on the planet’s ecosystems, weather patterns and human society.
Northern Ghana, like many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing the severe effects of climate change including erratic rainfall, drought, dry spell, and extreme temperatures, all of which threaten the livelihoods of the people”.
The Empowerment for Life (E4L Programme) and the GoAdapt Project seek to ensure that civil society organisations in northern Ghana contribute to improved resilience, equity, and more accountable governance in the country. They are being implemented in the 14 Municipal and District Assemblies in the Northern, North East and Savannah Regions by four local partners; Ghana Developing Communities Association, School for Life, Changing Lives in Innovative Partnerships, and YEFL-Ghana with funding support from Civil Society in Development, through Ghana Venskab, a Danish organisation.
Read the detail statement below.
Press Statement
Empowerment for Life Programme urges government to prioritise investment in local climate change actions as COP 29 opens in Azerbaijan
TAMALE, NOVEMBER 11, 2024 – The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has opened in Baku, Azerbaijan for countries to discuss and negotiate actions on climate change. Climate change is having widespread and severe impact on the planet’s ecosystems, weather patterns and human society.
Northern Ghana, like many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing the severe effects of climate change including erratic rainfall, drought, dry spell, and extreme temperatures, all of which threaten the livelihoods of the people.
Agriculture, the backbone of northern Ghana’s economy, is vulnerable to the changing weather patterns. Climate change is exacerbating existing challenges in northern Ghana where food security, water access, and rural development are already under pressure.
The Empowerment for Life Programme (E4L Programme), and the GoAdapt Project, which amongst other thematic areas, focus on climate-based adaptation, climate-smart agriculture, diversification and resilience, and climate change advocacy, in August, this year, in collaboration with their partners, held the maiden pre-COP event in Tamale. The pre-COP event was to advocate for measures towards sustainable climate action in northern Ghana.
As the COP 29 opened today in Baku, Azerbaijan, and following up on the recommendations of the pre-COP event held in Tamale, we call on the government to prioritise investment in local climate change actions through the District Assemblies Common Fund, the private sector, donations through individuals and organisations and internally-generated funds to support green businesses. We also call on the government through the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, to mainstream climate change adaptation budgeting into their Medium-Term Development Plan processes. We urge the government, the Northern Development Authority and the local assemblies to invest in irrigation infrastructure, subsidise farm implements, and provide credit facilities to boost all year-round farming.
At COP 29, we call on world leaders, negotiators, and organisations to prioritise the needs of regions such as northern Ghana, which are disproportionately affected by climate change. We urge developed countries to fulfill their pledges to provide $100 billion annually to developing nations and to support projects that help local communities adapt to climate risks.
As COP 29 begins in Azerbaijan, we stand in solidarity with all nations that are striving for a just and sustainable future for all. We call on global leaders to act with urgency, ambition, and accountability to protect the most vulnerable communities and ecosystems from the devastating effects of climate change.
We are committed to continuing our work in northern Ghana empowering local communities to take charge of their climate resilience and advocating for policies that ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all.
Abdul-Jabaru Mohammed
Programme Manager, Empowerment for Life Programme
Cc: All Media Houses
