Ghanaian Times deems it appropriate to commend the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for allocating US$1 million to support locally-led climate change actions in Ghana over a period of five years.
The assistance, which spans 2022-2027 is to be rolled out with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and so the USAID also deserves tonnes of commendation.
Climate change is a long-term shift in the average weather patterns affecting local, regional and global climates.
These changes have a broad range of observed effects such as heat waves, flooding and drought.
Such shifts can be natural due to changes in the sun's activity but human activities like burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature.
It is said that the causes of climate change add enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, thereby increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.
The negative effects of climate change can undermine livelihoods, cause some diseases and thus prevent people to enjoy life in the fullest.
The situation makes it imperative that governments must put in measures to combat the natural phenomenon.
Thus national budgets would be over-stretched, particularly in poor countries like Ghana, which means such countries need assistance to be able to implement their climate change adaptation plans.
Climate change affects different regions of the earth and countries differently.
In Ghana, we can talk of flooding, unbearable heat and change in rainfall pattern with all their devastating effects.
All we are saying is that climate change is a phenomenon that must be addressed globally with the appropriate actions.
Generally such actions could include campaigning to produce behavioural change; developing more sustainable commuting; producing products and food locally; providing services to people affected by climate change; and most importantly considering local solutions, including sustainable energy access and transformation.
It is said that prominent programmes among Ghana's adaptation policy initiatives include the National Climate Change Master Plan Action Programmes for Implementation (2015-2020), the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC, 2015), the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP, 2013) and the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS, 2012).
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The NDC, for instance, reaffirms its commitment to international climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement.
It highlights the country's long-term mitigation and adaptation goals and ways to provide synergistic avenues to reduce sector-wide vulnerabilities, build resilience and enhance overall efforts toward a green economy.
Thus, we believe that the Green Ghana Project, for example, is a climate change adaptation initiative that can help the country immensely in its bid to combat climate change.
In fact all the actions need money and certain materials to implement.
In the face of the threat of climate change, the Ghanaian Times appeals that Ghanaians everywhere should support all the efforts being made in the country to combat climate change.
Organisations and even capable individuals can offer more financial assistance in addition to all that we can do in kind.
