ABANTU holds workshop on Climate Change financing

ABANTU for Development, a Non-governmental Organistion (NGO) is engaging stakeholders in a two-day workshop to develop a tool and an action work plan for tracking Climate Change financing in Ghana.

The workshop, which is being orgainsed in collaboration with IBIS Ghana, an NGO, would serve as an opportunity for participants to share ideas and experiences on Climate Change issues and establish a “Working Group on Climate Finance.”

As party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the government of Ghana is among several other countries that are developing relevant policies, programmes and projects on climate change.

The workshop, therefore, seeks to actively involve IBIS partners, particularly women’s right organizations, the media and other civil society organizations working actively on climate change and facilitate citizens’ participation in climate change finance decisions.

Ms Ellen Dzah, Programme Manager of ABANTU for Development, on Tuesday said the programme falls within a three-year programme on “Promoting Accountability and Citizen Engagement in Climate Change Policies,” being implemented by ABANTU and IBIS Ghana.

According to her, financing climate change action is a major issue of concern and even as a number of funding mechanisms are available, there is inadequate information about how they are accessed and their utilization by government.

She said the Second National Communications to the United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change indicates that the government of Ghana receives some bilateral and multilateral funds such as the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to implement different climate change-related programmes.

Some of these funding mechanisms have supported research on vulnerability assessments, development of policy frameworks and the implementation of projects in some climate sensitive geographical areas, particularly in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions.

Climate Change has also been included in the national budget guidelines to enable all Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to mainstream climate change issues into their medium term and annual development plans by identifying and implementing critical initiatives in their respective operations.

Mrs Dzah said it is therefore critical for civil society to strengthen their own capacity in engaging actively with policy makers on issues of climate change finance to promote accountability, transparency and gender responsiveness.

She said government has expressed its readiness to work with both State and non-State actors in a participatory process to ensure that public resources are managed efficiently with integrity in response to the critical needs of all Ghanaians.

Mr Peter Dery, Director in-charge of Climate Change Sustainability at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, called for strengthened collaboration between civil society and the government in shaping climate change policies to attract funding.

He said the Ministry welcomes ABANTU as a strong advocate in gender responsiveness and a partner to help in developing workable strategies and policies.