Ghana Gears Up for COP28: Environment Ministry Holds Strategic Pre-COP Meeting

A group photo of participants at the meeting.jpg — A group photo of participants at the November 22, 2023 meeting for members of Ghana’s delegation to the 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has organized a meeting for members of Ghana’s delegation to the 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

With support from the Feed the Future Ghana Policy LINK Activity, the pre-COP28 meeting held on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 formed part of the Government of Ghana’s (GoG) efforts to enable its delegation to reach a consensus and discuss the modalities for effective participation in the conference.

*Hon. Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology*

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for MESTI, outlined the government’s preparations, revealing that high-level inter-ministerial meetings have already shaped the national position on negotiation items. Advocating for concrete progress on issues like loss and damage, adaptation, means of implementation, and fairness, Dr. Afriyie stressed the imperative for Ghana to vocalize its concerns that align with the country's development agenda at the COP.

Key advocacy points include the prioritization of adaptation at the local level, addressing socio-economic issues, and championing the inclusion of women and youth in climate action. Dr. Afriyie emphasized the necessity of women having a voice, considering their significant role in global demographics.

“There is a direct linkage between the socio-economic issues, the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals], women, and youth issues, and we must address them directly at this COP28,” he said. “More than half of the world’s population consists of women, and if we do not have women participating at all levels of our developmental agenda, we cannot address the issues. We must put this at the top of the agenda so that women will have a voice.”

The EPA and MESTI also developed of a website dedicated to COP28 by to help delegates follow programs that will be held at the Ghana Pavilion.

*Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), addressing participants at the meeting.*

For his part, Hon. Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology revealed the establishment of a climate change caucus in Parliament. This caucus comprises members from select committees related to climate change, including agriculture, energy, lands and forestry, transport, etc., and its purpose is to elevate discussions on climate change during Parliamentary proceedings.

Yunus Abdulai, Country Lead for Policy LINK in Ghana, affirmed the Activity's ongoing collaboration with government agencies, such as the EPA, to conduct national and sub-national consultations to review the implementation progress of Ghana’s current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and set priorities for a possible revision in 2025; the partnership with the Directorate of Crop Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to revise the National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan; and the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) to enable regulation in the provision of climate and weather information services, particularly for smallholder farmers.

The Pre-COP meeting saw the participation of key stakeholders, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Legislators, and representatives from various government departments and the USAID/Ghana Mission, emphasizing the collective effort towards addressing climate change challenges in Ghana.