President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo joined British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak on Monday to launch the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership (FCLP) at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
FCLP is a new political forum that brings governments and partners together to collaborate on solutions to reduce forest loss, increase restoration and support sustainable development.
It establishes a platform for Heads of State and Governments to coordinate their political efforts to accelerate global action to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while also delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
This comes on the heels of the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, which was adopted by world leaders at COP26 last year and committed to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
The new Partnership will ensure delivery and continued political focus on the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration's 2030 target. Ghana and the United States will co-chair the Partnership.
The FCLP Ministerial session, which will drive the Partnership's ambition, will be co-chaired by Ghana's Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, and the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Senator John Kerry.
President Akufo-Addo stated at the launch that Ghana is committed to sustainable land use, as well as the protection and restoration of forest and other terrestrial ecosystems.
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He pledged Ghana's commitment to collaborate with other nations to promote forests and other nature-based climate change solutions.
He touted Ghana's existing forest policies, such as the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project and the Green Ghana Project.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the FCLP would provide a unique space for intergovernmental collaboration and coordinated action with the contributions of non-state partners and stakeholders and that Ghana would use her leadership on the FCLP to foster cooperation among tropical forest countries in Africa and beyond to make the FCLP a successful vehicle for driving significant and impactful contributions to Climate Action.
On his part, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said forests are one of the world's greatest natural wonders but they continue to be undervalued and underestimated.
He stated that the best way to achieve the 1.5 degrees celsius global target is to protect our forests, while urging countries to keep their climate promises, adding that the UK would keep its 1.5billion-pound pledge.
He disclosed that the UK government is committing 19 million pounds to forest protection and urged the private sector to contribute funds to address the causes of deforestation.
