Developed countries must fulfill financial commitments to help Africa fight climate change

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for the fulfilment of financial commitments made by developed countries to help Africa fight climate change.

He said that while Africa contributed little to global warming, it was blamed the most for it.

Speaking at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, President Akufo-Addo stressed that African countries were doing their part to build climate resilience and that they needed international financial assistance to complement their efforts.

“Once we strive to do our bit to haul climate change at the national level, we expect also a lot to be done at the international level. One major issue of concern to us is the need to streamline access to international climate finance to complement national funding.”

“I believe this forum will shed more light on practical ways to mobilize financial resources to support the implementation of national climate actions. Especially how we can guarantee a different future from the past and ensure that the commitments of the developed world towards climate finance, which have not been met in the past, will be met in the future,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo noted that the ban on illegal mining, also known as galamsey, was yielding positive results in reducing carbon emissions.

He said that the ban on galamsey, which had been destroying water bodies and forest reserves, had helped to reduce the country’s carbon emissions.

President Akufo-Addo added that several flagship policy initiatives, such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One Village, One Dam, and the ban on illegal mining, had all contributed to reducing carbon emissions and building the country’s resilience to the impact of climate change.

“We placed a ban on illegal mining, the phenomenon we call galamsey, which was destroying our water bodies, vegetation, and our forests. Some 20,000 young people have been engaged to plant more than 30 million trees in two years to create jobs and restore degraded lands,” he said.

“These policy initiatives are already yielding positive results in the attainment of SDG Goals, particularly the goal of reducing our carbon emissions,” President Akufo-Addo said.