Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, has disclosed that Ghana will establish a financial mechanism against the devastating effects of climate change on the continent.

According to the Finance Minister, the financing mechanism is expected to provide significant opportunities to tackle climate risk and help transform the vulnerability of member states into resilience and prosperity.

Ken Ofori-Atta made this known in a speech read on his behalf at an outreach workshop held in Accra to lay the foundation for Ghana’s CVF Presidency which starts from May, 2022 to May, 2024, taking over from Bangladesh after CVF members endorsed Ghana in the climate change conference (COP26) last year, 2021.

Mr. Ofori-Atta stated that one of Ghana’s priority actions as the President of the Forum is to solidify cooperation between CVF and development partners to deliver funding for adaptation activities. This, he said, is because the current system does not serve the necessities of the climate-vulnerable economies, and would take steps to address the challenge.

“Building on the success of the Presidency of Bangladesh that has developed the first of the many Climate Prosperity Plans, we look forward to developing ours and more importantly, to spur and mobilize international investment through market creation and increased participation, technology transfer, and economic partnerships, for accelerated action.”
Ken Ofori-Atta

Mr. Ofori-Attah expressed Ghana’s commitment to increase the number of members of the Forum over the next two years as well as work towards expanding the portfolio of the CVF.

Climate change Affected the Development of CVF Member States

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, also in a statement delivered on his behalf, opined that climate change has exacerbated economic stress on CVF member states and affected their development process.

According to the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report confirmed that Sub-Saharan Africa was one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming.

“According to the State of the Climate in Africa 2020 report, investment in climate adaptation for sub-Saharan Africa would cost between US$30 billion to US$50 billion each year over the next decade, or roughly two to three per cent of GDP.”
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie

Meanwhile, a delegation from the CVF Secretariat and the outgoing President of Bangladesh are in Ghana as part of preparatory activities to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

The Head of Programme at CVF, Mr. Mathew McKinnon, asserted that the forum has helped put the vulnerable countries at forefront of climate response, including pushing for 1.5 degrees goals in the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Mathew McKinnon indicated that the secretariat would work with the Ghana team on issues, including ensuring that the global communities deliver on their commitment to cut emissions and increase funding for adaptation.

The CVF is a global partnership of developing nations that are disproportionately impacted by the consequences of global warming, and are taking steps to address them.