Launch Of Climate Change Policy NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE LAUNCH OF A POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE The National Climate Change Policy that was launched last month has been prepared and designed to tackle climate change challenges in the country, within the context of national sustainable development priorities, including achieving the objectives of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda. Ghana is one of African countries that have been identified as being vulnerable to climate change, because her economy is dependent on sectors such as agriculture, forestry and energy production that are sensitive to climate change. Climate change therefore has to do with more than just a change in the weather. It involves seasonal changes over a long period of time that play fundamental roles in shaping natural ecosystems, the human economies and cultures that depend on them. The change is basically the result of rapid global warming, which scientists say is due to the emission of dangerous substances known as “green house gases” from mainly human activities. Ghana’s climate is currently difficult to predict and experts say the country can expect more intense weather events, such as torrential rains, excessive heat and severe dry winds as a result of climate change. The 2008 national sectoral climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessments revealed the substantial impact of climate change on the national economy. Flooding, for example is an obvious and immediate threat to economic growth, energy supply, roads and transport, food and agriculture, education, health, water and sanitation, and social protection. According to the National Disaster Management Organization NADMO, which responds to flood disasters every year, floods demonstrate how climate change can reverse development investments. The National Climate Change Policy has acknowledged that these climate change induced events in the country will impact on agriculture, with reduced yields leading to more poverty and food insecurity including the possibility of famine, and the loss of national revenue from cash crops like cocoa. Another impact will be loss of biodiversity and soil fertility, land degradation and increased deforestation. To address these climate change related challenges, the National Climate change Policy, has a vision to ensure a climate-resilient and climate-compatible economy, while achieving sustainable development through equitable low-carbon economic growth for Ghana. Consequently, the Climate Change Policy, which admittedly may not be a perfect document, should be endorsed and embraced by all as the framework that will enable the country to achieve a green growth and low carbon economy. It should be noted however, that merely assimilating climate change on to an existing political agenda is unlikely to succeed. Fact is that the ease or difficulty with which mainstreaming is accomplished will depend on adaptation measures, mitigation technologies or practices, and the underlying development path. There will also be a need to address possible conflicts and define trade-offs between policy objectives, as well as identify and strengthen policies with potential “co-benefits”. For example, the co-benefits of green house gases mitigation actions such as afforestation can include improved energy security, urban air quality and human health benefits. However, integrating climate change risks into non-climate change policies requires more flexible, preventive and forward-looking approaches, and will involve legal, institutional and policy changes. To facilitate the implementation process of the National Climate Change Policy, five main areas have been prioritized for urgent attention. They are agriculture, food security, disaster preparedness and response, natural resource management, equitable social development, energy, industrial and infrastructural development. These have been further categorized into programme areas that will address fundamentally critical climate change related issues in the country. The expectation is that these programmes will improve food security, increase the resilience of infrastructure and communities, improve environmental management practices. It will also help in greater biodiversity conservation, removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and achieve more efficient systems for improved economic growth. The Multi Donor Budget Support has been identified as the funding mechanism to finance the National Climate Change Policy implementation process. It should be noted that the timely release of funds will be key for the successful implementation of the Policy. BY AMA KUDOM-AGYEMANG, A JOURNALIST.