250,000 people to die each year due to climate change

A research from the World Health Organization reveals that climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050; 38 000 due to heat exposure in elderly people, 48 000 due to diarrhoea, 60 000 due to malaria, and 95 000 due to childhood under nutrition.

Results indicate that the burden of disease from climate change in the future will continue to fall mainly on children in developing countries, but that other population groups will be increasingly affected.

And already a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change.

IPCC is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change.

It estimates suggest that climate change is likely to have significant effects on cereal crop productivity, potentially increasing the risk of under nutrition.

Projected increases in infectious disease morbidity, especially for diarrhoea illness, would exacerbate climate change effects on child nutrition.

In 2030, sub-Saharan Africa is projected to have the greatest burden of mortality impacts attributable to climate change.

By 2050, south Asia is projected to be the region most affected by the health effects of climate change.

Climate change is thus accelerating and poses sweeping risks for economic stability and the security of nations. Food security and the ecosystem are challenged. We see people losing their habitat through natural disasters, and other fighting over water.

While the world is confronting Ebola and terrorism as immediate cases, we have to also come to terms with the fact that climate change has immediacy with greater and longer- term consequences that can cost hundreds and billions of people’s lives and security of the world.

Hence the need for effective action to confront the mounting threat of climate change is now.

Actions taken so far

In light of the threats of climate change, 193 heads of state and leaders from business, finance and civil society met the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, on Tuesday 23 September, 2014 for the United Nations Climate Summit to generate political will towards emission reduction and build resilience to the impact of climate change.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, acknowledged that “Time is running out” and “the more we delay, the more we will pay”

He agreed "Without significant cuts in emissions by all countries, and in key sectors, the window of opportunity to stay with less than 2 degrees will soon close forever”.

Ban Ki-moon added, “many leaders, from all regions and all levels of economic development advocated for a peak in greenhouse gas emissions before 2020, dramatically reduced emissions thereafter, and climate neutrality in the second half of the century."

President Barack Obama also called on world leaders, specifically China to join the United States to lead the rest of the world in carbon reduction.

Addressing the United Nations, Obama reiterated, "We have a responsibility to lead,"  “We know what we have to do to avoid irreparable harm.  We have to cut carbon pollution in our own countries to prevent the worst effects of climate change. And we have to work together as a global community to tackle this global threat before it is too late”. 

Ahead of the UN Summit

Ahead of the summit thousands of people including the youth took to marching through the streets to tell world leaders the need to cut global warming pollution.

On the other hand, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change and the former president of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, had engaged almost all African leaders on the need to galvanize support and declare their commitment towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Before the summit, it was expected that world leaders attending the summit demonstrate that they fully understand the dangers that climate change poses to the prosperity and well-being of their citizens; and also acknowledge their collective responsibility to act urgently to reduce this threat.

Fortunately, foreign ministers of US, Peru, and France met their colleague ministers at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change Ministerial on Sunday 21^st September, 2014 ahead of the UN Summit and admitted that climate change has impacts not only on the environment but on various economies and global security interests as well.

The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in his opening statement at the foreign ministers forum recognized 20 countries, including US and China as “the economies that are in the best position to be able to address the global threat of climate change”

Addressing the ministers Kerry reiterated “unlike many of the challenges that we face, when it comes to climate change we know exactly what it takes to get the job done. There’s no mystery to this. The solution to climate change is energy policy. If we make the right choices about how we build buildings, how we transport people, what we do with respect to providing electricity and power to our countries, this problem gets solved. And every one of our countries has the technologies today to be able to do this. The policies aren’t complicated. It’s getting the political will to make the decisions to do what we know we have to do about it. It’s as simple as that, and that is true all over the world.”

My concerned as an African who is largely affected by the impact of climate change is for world leaders to abide by their own commitments this time round to avoid the same disappointment saw during the Rio Earth summit, of 1992, and the Kyoto protocol which could not successfully address issues of emission reduction.

The UN Summit took place on 23^rd September, 2014, marking the first time in five years that world leaders got together to register a bold and new course of action on climate change. The Secretary-General charged leaders to declare significant and substantial initiatives to help move the world toward a path that will limit global warming.

Among the declarations at the Summit include increasing the use of renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, reducing deforestation, promoting climate smart agriculture, building resilience, reducing pollutants, mobilizing finance for climate action, and promoting climate action in the world’s cities.

First Published/Citifmonline.com

Implications of 2015 global climate change agreement on African countries including Ghana

Climate Change

The negotiations for a new Climate Change Agreement in 2015 is far advanced after the first commitment period under the Kyoto protocol ended in December,2012.

France is to hold the 2015 United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change expected to come out with another “legally binding instrument” or an agreed “outcome with a legal force” on climate change which will be applicable to all parties to the UNFCCC and emitters of greenhouse gases. Should the latter outcome be announced, then Africa, including Ghana will have serious implications.

Before I explain, let me throw more light on the climate change negotiation process for your appreciation.

In 1979, the world recognized climate change as an urgent world problem and held its first Climate Change Conference meeting and issued a declaration which calls on governments to anticipate and guard against potential climate hazards.

From that time onward, public debate on the change in atmosphere advanced in Toronto, 1988. Over 340 participants from 46 countries all recommended that a comprehensive global framework convention be adopted to protect the atmosphere.

So, for the first time in the United Nations General Assembly, Climate change issues were discussed following a proposal by Malta. With several programmes and scientific bodies put in place to assess the magnitude and timing of changes, a second world climate change conference was held in Geneva, 1990 and had the United Nations General Assembly established the  Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to negotiate for a Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In responds to the declaration in the climate change conferences, the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and entered into force in 1994.

The UNFCCC ultimate objective is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system and food production.

So far, 196 countries including Ghana have signed and ratified. Ghana signed the UNFCCC in 1994 and had it ratified by parliament of Ghana in September 6, 1995.

As the negotiation continued, it was recognized that developed countries are primarily responsible for the current high levels of green house gas emissions in the atmosphere based on their pre-industrial era dated back to 1990. Yet, they have greater technological and financial resources to respond to the problems that come with the effect of climate change; so in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was then adopted and came into force in 2005 as a legally binding instrument to place a heavier burden on developed nations to reduce emissions under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities”.

"Common but differentiated responsibilities” explains that though effect of Climate change is common to very country, not all economies have equal capacity to deal with its adverse effects.

Therefore since the developed world contribute more to global environmental problems and yet have technological and financial capacities to deal with the problem, they are heavily compelled to reduce emissions at the same time, provide financial and technological support to the developing countries who suffer the most from climate change yet do not have the necessary capacity to meet the cost of adaptation. So the adaptation fund was established. Developing countries in the case had voluntary responsibility to commit to emissions reduction.

Though the protocol came into force in 2005, its first commitment period actually started in 2008 and ended in December 31, 2012; so for 5 years while the protocol lasted, developed countries reported to the convention on their level of emission reduced and other financial support given to developing countries to address the effects of climate change.

However since the protocol ended, no legally binding instrument has yet been proposed to replace the protocol; living almost 8 years gap for serious and smart countries to take advantage of possible emissions to the detriment of least develop countries. I say eight years because, should a negotiation be reached in Paris 2015, it will only enter into force in 2020.

Prior to the end of the protocol, there was an attempt to avoid the gap but unfortunately, the Copenhagen meeting held in 2009 could not come up with any decision to bridge the gap. Again, world leaders met in Mexico in 2010, Durban in 2011, and Doha in 2012, and in Warsaw 2013, to have a clear language and new pathways for the new Climate change agreement.

Pending a final negotiation for new legally binding instrument, world leaders will in December, 2014 meet in Lima to draft the final text. Then in Paris 2015, a new Climate Change agreement will be negotiated to replace the Kyoto Protocol. The outcome is expected to enter into force and be implemented from 2020 onward.

Two languages are likely to emerge in the new agreement; thus a “protocol” or an “agreed outcome with a legal force”. Either of which languages may be adopted has its own implications on African countries including Ghana. I will explain.

A protocol is a legally binding instrument which puts stringent measures on developed countries to reduce emissions. However, developing countries in this case have voluntary and flexible commitment to make towards reducing emission. This is due to the reasons given in the Kyoto Protocol.

An outcome with a legal force means that all countries irrespective of their capabilities will share equal responsibilities and respond to emission reduction. And when this happens, it will go in favour of the developed countries because unlike the protocol, developed countries in this case will not be heavily compelled to support developing countries in emission reduction.

And with their heavy technologies and finance capabilities they will be able to deal with the effects of climate change. While developing countries, struggle to use internally generated funds to deal with the adverse effects of the climate at the expense of other developments. 

Developing countries can no longer fold their arms and demand developed countries to pay any historical debt.

Already, the two-week talk in Bonn in June this year has shown some red lights of a sort. Gao Feng, a senior representative of the Chinese delegation to the talks said, "Consensus was being accumulated despite various divergences,"

“He said while developing countries were asking for a comprehensive and balanced reflection of mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capability building and transparency of supports in the new deal, as well as in the "contributions", developed countries focused too much on mitigation, or emission cuts, in their viewpoints, ignoring their obligation of providing financial and technological supports to developing countries”.

Now the question; is Africa ready for an “agreed outcome with a legal force”?

The Answer is no, in my opinion. Except for few countries like South Africa, many African countries including Ghana are not ready for the new pathways likely to hit us because it is capital intensive and requires proper documentation. All countries are expected to pledge and prove ways to reduce emissions under what is called “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)” to be considered in Paris.

Unfortunately whether a country has the capacity or not, they must make a commitment towards emission reduction and present Biannual Update Report in every two years to the convention.

Ghana will have to calculate the amount of CO2 it releases into the atmosphere and how it’s reducing that.

Eleven countries have begun putting in their proposals (INDCs). But as it stands now, Ghana has not proposed anything.  And should COP 20 in Paris come up with an “outcome with a legal instrument” the plights of developing countries including Ghana will worsen.

In as much as some of us want the outcome to favour Africa, some African leaders do not go to the negotiation prepared. Whereas USA goes to the negotiation table with their best scientists and skilful negotiators, our scientists and academia are nowhere to be found.

Lack of finance to support Africa scientists, and the inadequate technical competence contributes to Africa’s lack of climate change negotiation skills. It is about time, African governments identify young scientists, develop their skills to fit into the climate change negotiation process.

Africa as a group is not a party to the convention. They can only make submissions as individuals but cannot take decisions or negotiate as a group. 

The suggestion therefore is that just as the European Union is party to the convention, the Africa Union should also endeavour to become parties to the convention. Until this happens Africa will only be speaking not as a group but as individuals.

Again, Africa should go into this negotiation with a positive mind and not the attitude of “we are not responsible for climate change” because that fact has already been established.

First Published/Citifmonline.com

Former President J. A. Kufuor has Charged Journalist to take Climate Change Reporting Serious

Former President J. A. Kufuor Launching Guidebook

 A guidebook for Journalist on climate change was launched last Tuesday 20 May 2014 at the Accra International Conference Center, to serve as a toolkit for journalist to be able to identify and be abreast of climate change issues. 

Speaking at the launch, the United Nation Special Envoy on Climate Change and Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor charged journalists in Ghana and across Africa to take up climate change reporting serious.

He indicated that the spate of the adverse impact climate change poses to human lives and development has turned the subject into a force that needs to be reckoned with. “Climate change has progressed from not just being an environmental issue but development issue as well” he added.

Recounting the loses of other sister nations, the Former President Kufuor reiterated that even though Ghana might not have immensely contributed to climate change, the country is also not immune from its impact; there is therefore the need to raise the awareness of climate change among the public and be educated on the appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures they may consider to augment efforts by government.

Ghanaian Journalists are advised not to sit on the fence but ensure that government pays attention to the issue through agenda setting.

A representative of UNESCO to Ghana, Tirso Dos Santos, appealed to journalism institutions to use the guidebook as a reference book to throw more light on climate change.

A Throw back on Media Coverage of Environmental Issues in Ghana

It is also stressed that man’s environment is essential to the well-being and the enjoyment of basic human rights-even the right to life itself. As partners in development, the media is charged to give priorities to the coverage of those areas that touch on the lives of the people. In other words, media content should be development-driven and should center on the environmental, economic, social well-being of the people.
However, an unpublished research conducted by MaryJane Enchill in May 2014 to inquire about the extent of media coverage of environmental issues, precisely climate change revealed an abysmal engagement of the media in climate change report.

The research revealed the media is skeptical about environmental reporting; precisely climate change. Although the 30 journalist interviewed have heard of climate change, only 2 could make a development case for climate change and so were those willing to further engage in the subject.  Between January to March, only 9 and 6 environmental reports, precisely sanitation were observed on GTV and TV3 respectively. 

While a section of journalist claimed environmental issues are not lucrative enough as compared to political and business issues, others blamed lack of expertise or capacity to engage in the environment and climate change discourse. It is therefore heart-warming to guidebook launched bridge the knowledge gap related to climate change.

Atewa Forest at Risk of Disappearing

Known to be the healthiest and most important ecosystem in West Africa, the Atwea forest is on the verge of disappearing due to the economic over-exploitation of the range. Commercial bauxite and illegal artisan mining, illegal logging and bush meat hunting is gradually destroying the forest.

Read on or follow the rest of the story in the Video

The forest covers an area of 233,662 hectares, sheltering three major rivers in Ghana-the Ayensu, Birim and Densu. These rivers provide drinking water for both urban and rural dwellers in parts of Accra, Oda, Koforidua and Kade.

The bio-diverse forest also supports a number of rare plants and animals of global and national importance. Currently it has 155 birds, 143 butterflies, and 28 mammal species.

The forest is noted for delivering a variety of ecosystem services and economic benefits.

At the spate of forest degradation, Ghana is losing fauna ranging from the rare and indigenous species to several of West African forest birds.

Major causes are commercial bauxite and illegal artisanal mining in fringe communities, illegal chainsaw logging, bush meat hunting and farm encroachment.

A Rocha Ghana and the Regional Environmental Office of the US Embassy in Accra have taken it upon themselves to educate communities and civil society on protecting the national asset as part of activities marking this year's international earth day celebration under the theme, "green cities".

Ghana celebrated the day under the theme, "our forest in harmony, with our cities".

Up-close with a Citronella Farmer in the Western Region

Our National Assest at Stake- Atewa Range in view

Atewa Forest

Known to be the healthiest and most important ecosystem in West Africa, the Atwea forest is on the verge of disappearing due to the economic over-exploitation of the range.

Commercial bauxite and illegal artisan mining, illegal logging and bush meat hunting is gradually destroying the forest.

The forest covers an area of 233,662 hectares, sheltering three major rivers in Ghana-the Ayensu, Birim and Densu.

These rivers provide drinking water for both urban and rural dwellers in parts of Accra, Oda, Koforidua and Kade. The bio-diverse forest also supports a number of rare plants and animals of global and national importance.

Currently it has 155 birds, 143 butterflies, and 28 mammal species.

The forest is noted for delivering a variety of ecosystem services and economic benefits.

At the spate of forest degradation, Ghana is losing fauna ranging from the rare and indigenous species to several of West African forest birds.

Major causes are commercial bauxite and illegal artisanal mining in fringe communities, illegal chainsaw logging, bush meat hunting and farm encroachment.

A Rocha Ghana and the Regional Environmental Office of the US Embassy in Accra have taken it upon themselves to educate communities and civil society  on protecting the national asset as part of activities marking this year's international earth day celebration under the theme, "green cities".

Ghana celebrated the day under the theme, "our forest in harmony, with our cities."

Community Advised to Protect the Weto Range

The Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme has released twenty two thousand dollars towards the protection of the Weto forest reserve in the Volta region.

The project is to help communities improve their adaptive capacity to climate change.

The Weto forest deforestation rate is 2.0% leading to an annual loss of about 135,000 hectares.

Emission data indicates that Ghana has become a net emitter due to high levels of carbon emissions in land use and forestry sector to which the degradation in the Weto Range is a contributing factor.

 It is for this reason that the Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme (GEFSGP) is engaging indigenes in the region in a community-Based Enhancement of Carbon Stock through Wildfire Management and Afforestation in the Weto Range

Other civil society organization including the Youth Employment Network is currently educating indigenes on managing the reserve.

Another major problem within the Range is incidence of wildfires/bushfires normally initiated by the farmers in the attempt of clearing lands for farming activities. Bush fires have been identified as a contributor to the depletion of the Weto forest reserve.

134 cases of bush fires were recorded in 2010, as against over 229 cases recorded in September 2011, and this is blamed on farmers practicing slash and burn system of farming.

The Chief Executive of Youth Employment Network Dinah Morris entreated farmers and all stakeholders in the various districts and municipalities to help protect the forest reserve.

Citronella farmers in Western Regions calls for support

Mr. John Donkor,, a Citronella Farmer

Distillers of citronella oil in the western region have called on the government and private institutions to invest in citronella farming for the domestic and export markets. 

The farmers say there's high demand for citronella oil yet due to low productivity, they cannot meet the demand. 

Citronella oil is predominately used for soap making, insect repellent, antiseptic, disinfectant, and aromatherapy. It could also be used by surgical doctors in place of surgical spirit. Citronella grass takes 4-6 months to harvest and about 5 hours to be distilled into oil.

John Donkor is a Citronella farmer and his farm is one of the few well established citronella farmer in Ghana. He called on Government and stakeholders to support farmers whose product are in high demand. 

"We are calling on Government to take this as a national because the citronella oil is high demand across the country. People from far and near to buy, but we lack the machines to produce them in high quantity." 

Citronella grass could also be used as manure for cultivation. "The decomposed citronella grass can also be used as manure to crop vegetables; we will need a machine to grind the decomposed grass it into powder form."  

Ghana gets ready to implement REDD+- Seven Regions to Benefit

Ghana has received 1.1 million dollars from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank to develop its National Strategy to implement the REDD plus project.

The project is geared toward the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The fund came through the forestry commission climate change unit and it is to concentrate on forest dependent communities across the country.

Tropical forests are being degraded at alarming rates contributing to 20% of the world greenhouse gas emissions,

In 1995 Ghana joined other countries to fight climate change by signing an international agreement called the united nation framework convention on climate change.

Ghana's obligation under the convention among others is to map up mitigation and adaptation measures to reduce the impact of climate change.

In 2007 Ghana developed the interest in joining REDD-plus initiative to reduce emission from deforestation and forest degradation, and to support conservation, sustainable forest management, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

In 2010, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank approved an amount of 3.4million dollars for Ghana to undertake the red plus project 

However, 1.1 million dollars has so far been released to the country through the forestry commission climate change unit to carry out the implementation phase of the project.

The REDD-Plus project is concentrating on seven forest dependent communities across the country, including the western, Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Central Regions.

The Programme Manager of REDDplus, Sulemana Adamu spoke about the impact of the programme on the livelihood of forest dependent communities. "REDD+ is one of the adaptation plans Ghana is undertaking to enhance the ecological health to improve climate change resilience. Not only is it going to promote afforestation, it will also generate income for the country. Alternative livelihoods are going to be provided for forest dependent communities so they can desist from cutting down the trees. Currently the project is going to be piloted in seven forestry dependent regions" 

A Civil Society Organisation,Climate Action Network-Ghana,held a workshop to create awareness and to facilitate local community’s involvement in REDD+ management and implementation in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer of the network, Samuel Dotse called on all and sundry including stakeholders and forest dependent communities to support the project when it is finally started.