Climate change impacts dawn on Ghana to take action

The quest for climate justice is a global campaign, but failing to act local by taking climate action, as a matter of urgency, will be at the peril of lives and livelihoods.

Africa and other developing countries, which contributed least to the phenomenon of climate change, are unfortunately most vulnerable to its impacts.

Local people and communities are already reeling under the devastating impacts of unfavourable weather conditions.

Ghana, since the beginning of this year, has experienced a sharp alteration in its weather and living environment.

Destructive downpour, debilitating sunshine, drought, incessant fire outbreaks, high tides and widespread flooding, and pest infestations are now common place.

The havoc caused has exposed Ghana's challenge in adapting to the changes – farmers are losing their investments in production, communities are helplessly being displaced and infrastructure, such as roads and buildings are collapsing.

At the recent UN Oceans Conference in New York, President Akufo-Addo called for the speedy implementation of the Paris Agreement, a blueprint for global action to reverse the trend of climate change.

The country's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) presented to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the Paris Agreement in 2015 outlined a ten year post-2020 enhanced climate action plan.

Ghana will need $22.6billion in investments from domestic and international public and private sources to finance its 31 programme of actions in climate mitigation and adaptation.

A larger chunk of the financing is expected from international sources. But the local financial arrangement would need to be made clear in national budgets.

Under adaptation, for instance, Ghana needs to mobilize $4.21 billion at the national level in order to meet the cost of implementing its adaptation actions.

Climate change is indeed happening in Ghana but the climate voice is low and action is slow.

Ghana's environment is already at the mercy of illegal mining which has put stress on land, trees and water bodies.

Indiscriminate logging, tree clearing and wetland conversion for building constructions, coupled with bad agricultural practices are threatening the country's sustainable development.

And climate change could exacerbate the challenges in the country's environment.

When the rains fail, the drought situation in parts of the country will worsen, communities whose water sources are polluted cannot access rain water, farmers cannot plant and animals roaming in search of pasture will lead to communal conflicts.

And when the rains are torrential, floods will displace communities, infrastructure will collapse, crop yield will be low, and new forms of human migration will emerge.

That is the reality of a changing climate and the rippling effects cut across all sectors of the economy, including health, education, agriculture, housing, energy and transportation.

Polluter’ economies are expected to help fulfill the spirit of the Paris Agreement by cutting down emissions and supporting climate-vulnerable economies with finance and technology to adapt.

But taking climate action at the local level should be everybody's business – public and private sectors, individuals and corporations, young and old.

The 16^th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) strongly urged African leaders to develop, pursue and implement their climate and sustainable development commitments.

Developing climate smart solutions for sustainable development should be driven by the private sector, whilst the public sector activates national climate policies and streamline budget allocations to be climate-sensitive to protect lives and livelihoods.

Such action will help increase climate resilience and decrease vulnerability for enhanced sustainable development.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Building sustainable cities in the face of urbanization

The rapid population growth and urbanization, with its attendant socio-economic and environmental challenges necessitated the need to build green, climate-resilient economies for sustainable living, especially in developing countries.

By 2030, there will be 41 megacities – each with more than 10 million inhabitants, according to UN estimates. By 2050, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities – adding 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban areas.

This constant surge of urban migration will continue to strain the infrastructure and resources of cities, as well as dramatically affect every aspect of life for city residents-- from health and wellbeing, to safety to an overall quality of life. 

Urbanization will affect both the environmental and social elements of society; and ensuring that cities are built sustainably is more important than ever if people’s exposure to high levels of pollution, climate change and human migration are to be managed.

The ROCKWOOL Group, a global leader in sustainability solutions, is committing to enriching lives of people residing in highly-concentrated areas with existing technology and products.

“From energy consumption to noise pollution, water scarcity to flooding, our solutions help our customers address many of the big issues of modern living. Our range of products address the diversity of the world’s needs, supporting our stakeholders in reducing their own carbon footprint along the way,” says the Group.

African countries like Ghana are in high housing deficit and demand affordable housing schemes among solutions.

ROCKWOOL commissioned a global survey to learn from those living in the most populated cities of the world with the goal to better understand what challenges these people face as part of their everyday lives, and more importantly, what they are willing to do about it.

The study results call for a series of critical reassessments regarding consumer choice and action in addressing growing urban challenges.

For example, 33% of global energy consumption comes from buildings, yet less than 31% of those surveyed globally realize that energy-efficient buildings exist and can make a difference. 

Additionally, 90% of energy savings can come from buildings, and a significant 69% of people surveyed stated that they would be willing to pay more to live in an energy-efficient home.

ROCKWOOL believes lack of information is a major challenge for people to live in energy-efficient homes.

Among its solutions is sustainable insulation that helps reduce energy consumption and air pollution outside, while improving climates inside for better indoor wellbeing and lower energy costs.

ROCKWOOL’s stone wool is an affordable solution to reduce buildings energy demand by up to 80% by 2050 and 50-90% of energy savings can come from new and existing buildings.

Sustainable cities are ranked on three dimensions – people, planet and profit – so that a better quality of life through infrastructure and city planning can be possible. 

Sustainable living through sustainable development starts by ensuring the right building substructure is in place – one that ensures people’s indoor health and wellbeing, while also reducing the carbon footprint, and saving on energy consumption.

ROCKWOOL says taking a “triple bottom line” approach, or sustainability by financial, social and environmental performance, is key to ensuring long-term sustainability. 

“Our raw material is one of the most abundant on the planet and it has enriching capabilities: Stone wool is a healthy choice for everyone; Businesses: It increases productivity and efficiency; People: Improves comfort and safety and guards your health; Earth: Helps tackle global issues,” says the Group.

Our laws should protect the elderly – group advocates

The Guardians of Gray Masters Foundation, a not-for-profit institution, is advocating early passage of Ghana’s National Aged Bill to protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of older persons.

The global population of people above the age of 60 will exceed the number of younger people by 2050, and this growth is expected to be faster in developing countries.

Yet, research has shown elderly abuse, neglect, violence, and exploitation is one of the biggest issues facing senior citizens around the world.

World Health Organization data suggests that 4 to 6 per cent of elderly suffer from some form of abuse, a large percentage of which goes unreported.

In Ghana, the Guardians of Gray Masters Foundation has observed a growing trend of elder abuse.

“The aged are physically assaulted, spiritually maligned and emotionally bruised in various ways” says Abigail Appiah, Executive Director of the Foundation. “These abuses occur in homes, within communities, in health care institutions, around religious space and other places in society”.

The United Nations has designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day to draw global attention to the problem of physical, emotional, and financial abuse of the aged.

The Guardians of Gray Masters wants the battle to end elder abuse to be a concern to every individual as the young shall grow – both the rich and the poor.

“Fighting elder abuse is fighting for the comfort of our future; in our old age. The crusade of ensuring the government puts in the right policies and laws to protect the old aged should be upheld by all,” said Abigail.

Spiritual Abuse

The Foundation is concerned some elders are branded as witches and subjected to physical and verbal attacks; some are beaten to death, others are regarded as outcast, neglected or sacked from their homes and sent unto the streets or prayer camps.

Some religious leaders poison the minds of the youth to believe the elderly in the house are the source of all their predicaments.

The Foundation challenges young people need to learn the habit of solving problems, thinking and bringing out innovative ideas and acting on them to make a good living and not blame others for their failure.

Financial Abuse

The aged are also robbed of their hard earned savings by both family caretakers and non-family service providers.

Elders who are not capable of accessing their accounts as a result of health-related conditions or accidents that render them incapacitated are the mercy of caretakers.

The unscrupulous ones end up squandering the cash of the elders, rendering them bankrupt and eventually leaving them to suffer in pain and death.

Unfriendly Infrastructure

The Foundation also says Ghana’s system of infrastructure development in building construction is mostly elderly unfriendly.

“There are storey buildings with three to five or more floors without lifts or escalators. Most elderly people walk with an aid like the walking stick an as a result of poor health are unable to access some of these structures,” it observed.

Being burdened to climb higher floors to access a service is not the best and the situation is worse for elders who suffer physical disability.

Service Conditions

The elderly queue with young active people to access services that may be crucial to their welfare, especially for health and financial services.

With few exceptions, elders are not as active and strong as the youth and therefore need to access speedy services by service supervisors.

 

The theme for the year’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is “Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue.”

The theme will explore effective means of strengthening protections against financial and material exploitation, including by improving the understanding of this form of elder abuse and discussing ways of ensuring the participation of older adults themselves in ending victimization.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Ghana benefits from $7million African renewable energy projects

Ghana has been announced among the three winners of the 2017 US$7 million Access Co-Development Facility (ACF) – an innovative funding and support platform for renewable energy projects in Africa.
 

The three winning projects, hailing from Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana, were selected from a technologically and geographically diverse pool of 82 entrants from 23 countries after having presented to a live panel of industry expert judges.

The panel based their final selection on the commercial, technical and environmental merits of the projects presented, as well as the local regulatory environment and capability of the project teams.

The winners will share the US$7 million pot provided by the Access Co-Development Facility as well as technical support and expertise.

Ghana will work on a 48MW wind project at Winneba, whilst Tanzania develops a 30MW Solar PV project at Kondoa and Rwanda on a 9.7MW hydro project at Rukarara.

When completed, the projects will collectively provide over 85MW of electricity, enough to power more than 420,000 homes and business across Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. The winners were announced today in Copenhagen at the 19^th annual Africa Energy Forum, following a presentation by the five shortlisted developers to a panel of expert judges.

The projects are spearheaded by Access Power, a developer, owner and operator of renewable power projects in emerging markets in partnership with EREN Renewable Energy, a global independent power producer.

“We are very excited to begin working with today’s winners in partnership with EREN and help bring their projects to fruition. Each of these projects has the power to dramatically improve the lives of the communities around these renewable energy facilities,” said Reda El Chaar, Executive Chairman of Access Power.

“By partnering with us, these local entrepreneurs will gain access to not only our pot of $7 million but also our network of contacts and technical experts, underlining the unique nature of the ACF in creating a clear route to market.”

The winning projects will now enter into Joint Development Agreements with Access Power, who will take an equity stake. Winners will also be able to leverage Access Power’s organisational, financial and technical knowledge, as well as access to our network. They will also receive assistance with the funding of third-party development costs including feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments and due diligence fees.

This year’s competition was notable for the dominance of solar, with just under half of this year’s entries and three of the five shortlisted projects falling under the category, but also for the high number of applications from countries with low levels of electrification.

Of the 23 countries represented in this year’s edition, 18 have electrification rates below 30%.

This year’s application process also further highlighted the rise of East and West Africa as hotspots for renewable energy development, with nearly 80% of all applicants hailing from both sides of the continent.

Israel invests $1 billion in solar projects across West Africa

Israel’s leading solar developer will be investing $1 billion over the next four years to advance green energy power projects across the 15 member states of the West African economic community. 

An MOU to that effect has been signed between the State of Israel and ECOWAS. 

“We are prepared to finance and build the first National Demonstration Solar Projects in all ECOWAS-affiliated countries in order to promote political stability and social and economic development, as well as to advance knowledge transfer,” says Yosef I. Abramowitz, CEO of Energiya Global.

The company and its international partners will finance and build a commercial-scale solar field at the Roberts International Airport, which will supply 25% of Liberia’s generation capacity.

Energiya Global and its associated companies developed the first commercial scale solar field in sub-Sahara Africa in Rwanda, which is supplying 6% of the country’s power, and the group broke ground on a similar power plant in Burundi, which will supply 15% of the country’s power by the end of the year. 

The solar group has fields at various stages of development in ten African countries and expects to announce its full program at the Israel-Africa Summit in Togo at the end of October.

In an historic first, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is addressing the 15 West African heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as the head of the African Union.  

“Israel is coming back to Africa,” the Prime Minister announced, as he outlined the technological innovations in agriculture, water, green energy and more that can support economic development in West Africa.

The $20 million investment comes as Israel and ECOWAS sign Sunday an historic Memorandum of Understanding to promote investments, technology and cooperation.

“With 600 million Africans without electricity, the State of Israel can literally help African heads of state bring power to the African people,” says Member of Knesset Avraham Neguise, chairman of the Israel-Africa Caucus of the Israeli Parliament, who accompanied the Prime Minister.   “Our humanitarian and diplomatic goals are supported by the private sector as well, which can work quickly and efficiently to improve the lives of millions of people.  I want to thank my friend Yosef Abramowitz for his investments in solar in Africa.  We look forward to working with ECOWAS to deploy $1 billion over the next four years, starting with this first investment of $20 million in Liberia by Energiya Global.”

A working session between ECOWAS, representatives of the State of Israel and Abramowitz will take place Monday morning in Monrovia, to plan for the deployment of the green energy investments in fulfillment of the MOU signed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the President of ECOWAS.

Least Developed Countries respond to US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

Following President Trump's announcement of his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group has expressed disappointment in the decision but emphasised that global climate momentum will continue with or without the US.

The group represents nearly one billion people in the 48 poorest countries in the world.

Chair of the LDC group, Gebru Jember Endalew, said: "It is deeply disappointing to see the US shirking its responsibilities as a member of the global community. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change with record droughts, flooding and heat waves recently faced around the world. For LDCs the impacts are especially devastating; as the poorest countries in the world we are highly vulnerable but the least capable to respond to the threat of climate change. By refusing to commit to ambitious action on climate change President Trump is showing disregard for the lives of millions around the world."

"In Paris the world united with a call for climate action and the wave of momentum now behind the Agreement cannot be slowed by one country deciding to sit on the sidelines. Many countries have taken up the mantle of global climate leadership through ambitious climate policies and innovation, and the US has lost a seat at this table."

"The international community won't wait for the US to catch up. Transformations in technology, consumption patterns and demand for clean, green innovations are charging ahead of political will around the world. Countries are learning that taking advantage of these innovations is not only smart for the climate, but smart for the economy. Joining the transition to a green economy means embracing business opportunities that are beneficial for all."

"The US is only one country. I urge global leaders not to let President Trump's decision to distract us from the important work we need to do to achieve the vital goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement. I also invite President Trump to reconsider his decision. Let us continue to work together to build a safe world for present and future generations."

World condemns Trump exiting US from Paris Agreement

The White House has announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international effort to limit the warming from climate change to below 2 degrees Celsius.

Almost 200 countries committed to climate action in Paris in 2015 and only one has decided to withdraw; with President Trump explaining the deal “punished” the US and would cost millions of American jobs.

The decision has been described by many as “morally-bankrupt”; “reckless, irresponsible, and unjust”; “a grave moral and environmental injustice”; “a mission to sacrifice our planet to the fossil fuel industry”; and “an act of global environmental vandalism that has the potential to do great harm to current and future generations”.

In the worst scenario, the US pullout could add 0.3C to global temperatures by the end of the century, said the UN World Meteorological Organisation.

According to the Climate Action Network (CAN), the decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement signals that the Trump Administration is in total discord with both reality and the rest of the world.

“Unfortunately, the first to suffer from this injudicious decision is the American people. This action is totally contrary to their best interests: their health, security, food supply, jobs and future,” said CAN. “By turning its back on climate action, the Trump administration burdens the American people with rising costs and risks from pollution, environmental degradation and lost opportunities in a low-carbon economy and renewable energy jobs. None of this will make America great, in any way”.

There has been an overwhelming show of support from the international community in defending the Paris Accord, serving as a reminder that the world is wasting no time on laggards when it comes to climate action.

Leading international climate experts and advocates have therefore issued statements condemning the decision of the Trump administration.

The US is the world’s biggest historic emitter – that country’s historic pollution is the consequence of a rapidly warming world with droughts, fires, and floods wreaking havoc with livelihoods and lives, even displacing whole communities.

Vulnerable people and communities in Africa are already suffering the extremes of weather conditions.

Ghana, for instance, needs technologies for eco-efficiency whilst working toward elimination of waste; building infrastructure and mechanisms to reduce, recycle and reuse waste; and redesigning products to ensure durability and optimum.

“With a strong action from world leaders, we can scale up renewable energy and mitigation approaches that promote energy efficiency by cutting fossil fuel,” said Kenneth Nana Amoateng of Abibiman Foundation. “Pulling out of the Paris Agreement would make it harder for local communities to reach a safer and more prosperous future, it is time we hold our leaders accountable for their promises”.

With President Trump’s pullout of the Paris Agreement, US payments to the UN Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries cope with the effects of climate change, will stop. The US has reportedly so far paid $1bn of a $3bn pledge.

Notwithstanding the long-awaited decision by Donald Trump, civil society representatives and social movement leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States have vowed to build people power to address the climate crisis.

"With the plan by Trump to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, people power and international solidarity are the only hope we have of averting an unimaginable climate crisis which will fan the flames of every existing inequality and injustice,” said Mithika Mwenda of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). “It will take all of us around the world, organising together, to hold the historic emitters like the U.S. under the watch of Donald Trump to account and ensure our governments also do their fair share of climate action in the next four years to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. Trump's decision doesn't change that."

Friends of the Earth US also calls on all nations to assert heavy economic and diplomatic pressure to compel the Trump Administration to take serious climate action to protect people and the planet.

"Climate change is not waiting for U.S. action and neither can the rest of the world. Trump has turned the U.S. into a rogue climate state and the world should use economic and diplomatic pressure to compel the U.S. to do its fair share. The majority of Americans do not support Trump and his fossil fuel agenda that puts corporate profits above people. The struggle to create real, deep change continues in the U.S. The resistance to Trump is strong and it is growing," said Ben Schreiber, Friends of the Earth USA.

Al Gore, Founder and Chairman of the Climate Reality Project, says the decision undermines America’s standing in the world and threatens to damage humanity’s ability to solve the climate crisis in time.  

He however says “disappointment is not despair”, emphasizing that President Trump’s decision should not stop civic leaders, mayors, governors, CEOs, investors and the majority of the business community to take up this challenge of ensuring the inevitable transition to a clean energy economy.

“We are in the middle of a clean energy revolution that no single person or group can stop,” said Al Gore.

The US pull out of the Paris Agreement should be a trigger for increased action on climate in Europe, to end fossil fuel dependency by 2030.

European and Chinese leaders have pledged to continue to combat global warming.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh