Samuel Abu Jinapor
Commitment Without Financing Won’t Solve Climate Change
… Abu Jinapor
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has emphasized the need for adequate financing to tackle climate change issues.
According to him, commitments alone would not help in solving climate change issues in the country adding that this can be achieved through public-private partnerships.
According to him, financing is key because though it is necessary for countries to commit to the goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 as well as accelerating afforestation, mere promises will not fetch the needed results.
“There has been a lot of talk and commitment after commitment and yet we have still not been able to mobilize the requisite financing to be able to come to terms with the situation.
“Developed countries promise $100,000,000 every year to support developing countries in our climate change actions and yet we have not been able to realize this goal, ” he underscored.
The Minister believes therefore that with the coming into force of the Leaf Coalition, governments including Ghana’s will be able to reduce the carbon emissions and deforestation.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Climate Change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, to sign on some five countries including Ghana, Nepal, and Ecuador to the Leaf Coalition−a Private, Public, and non-profit Civil Society partnership aimed at reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 and reducing deforestation.
Mr. Jinapor disclosed at the forum that “forest conservation alone can contribute to 30% reduction in carbon 6 emissions” and as such highlighted efforts the government has made at meeting the net-zero goal including the planting of trees.
If it would be recalled, the government set June 11 aside as Green Ghana Day where some 7 million trees were planted across the regions of the country.
According to the Minister who doubles as Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency, the government will in 2022 plant 20 million more trees to increase the impact of the forest vegetation.
The MP however did not end without touching on the negative impact activities of “galamseyers” have had on the country’s forest reserves which play an important role in carbon reduction.
He nonetheless noted that the government is “putting in a lot of measures to sanitize the sector and stop illegal mining and mining in general from resulting in deforestation and forest degradation.”