The Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Ebenezer Appiah-Sampong has disclosed that Ghana has signed a bilateral agreement with the Swiss government as part of its commitments with the global community to tackle climate change.
The agreement, he said, is one of many initiatives to try to trade in emission reductions by incentivizing systems so that industry and the various players will take the initiative and also benefit from working to reduce emissions.
He noted that when climatic changes are even reversed successfully, it will take some time for the impact of the change to be felt and stressed that Ghana is on the right path in the fight against climate change.
Mr Appiah-Sampong stated these at the sidelines of a three-day workshop organised by the EPA for some members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC).
According to him, there is evidence of climatic change even in Ghana with soaring temperatures and erratic weather conditions.
“If you look at our reporting systems, we are increasing our temperatures especially in the three northern regions where the impacts really are.
“The floods are also a sign, every year we have heavy rain for shorter periods but the intensity is higher. You cannot even predict but the evidence is there that it is impacting us as a country.
“There are various responses and the government is looking at reducing our emissions by joining with the global community to make such commitments,” he added.
Ghana as a country, he said, needs to keep working on it and putting in various initiatives to expand the scope of the country’s interventions.
Mr. Appiah-Sampong noted that infrastructural developments are being made climate-resilient because they have become the norm and stressed that the country’s approach to practices has to be changed.
According to him, the industrial processes have to be made greener while the transport systems will have to be made climate-friendly.
“That is our job to keep the messages and conversations going so that we will take certain initiatives. These are secretarial interventions in the cocoa sector and we are looking at them to ensure that the impact of climate change on agriculture as well”, he pointed out.
Mr. Appiah-Sampong warned that if Ghanaians don’t change their practices then these uncertain weather conditions will continue not only in the north but even in the southern sector of the country.
“Our climate is so unpredictable now that we do not have enough rains in June and July, the rainy seasons but we even heavy rains in December.
“The key is that we keep our eyes on it and change our practices. We work with the international community because climate is not peculiar to one country but cuts across regions.
“So the regional and international approach is very critical in terms of caring,” he added.
