By
Kofi Adu Domfeh
Ghana
should be able to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
(INDCs) before the deadline of end of September 2015, according to government
officials.
An
INDC is a government's proposed 'contribution' to the United Nations as to what
it will do about climate change. It is both a
political and technical task because the information included in governments’
INDCs will serve as building blocks of the Paris climate agreement.
Countries
that fail to submit their INDCs will miss out of the synthesis report and the
seriousness of the country in the negotiation process would be questioned.
The
Ghana Agenda for INDCs is spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment, Science,
Technology and Innovation (MESTI).
Peter
Justice Derry, Deputy Director, Climate Change at the Ministry, says there
would be “back-to-back meetings” of stakeholders in the final days ahead to
meet the deadline.
“We
are worried [because] we want to see ourselves in that synthesis report and so
we must make sure that we meet the deadline or else we miss out,” he told a
national Forum on the INDCs, organized by the Ghana Climate Change Coalition
(GCCC) in collaboration with the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)
and Abantu for Development.
The
forum is part of efforts towards enhanced CSOs action in the climate change
discourse and the INDCs in Ghana.
“The
role of civil society organizations cannot be under-played because all over the
world when there has been concrete change; change that has actually benefited
citizens, it has been from the push and campaign of civil society,” said Dr.
Rose Mensah-Kutin of the GCCC.
Seven
African countries have so far submitted their INDCs – Gabon, Morocco, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Benin, Djibouti and DRC.
The
position of the Global Campaign is that INDCs should be comprehensive and
address all elements of the climate crisis – including the need for transfers,
the necessity of adaptation, and the rights of impacted people.
According
to Patience Damptey, a member of the African Group of Negotiators and Convener
of Gender Action on Climate Change for Equality and Sustainability (GACCESS),
adaptation is included in all the INDCs from African countries.
She
says actions to be undertaken in Ghana’s INDCs from 2020 to 2030 would be on
four strategic areas – agriculture and food security; climate resilient
strategic infrastructure; equitable social development; and sustainable natural
resource management.
Ghana,
as a member of the Conference of Parties (COP) and signatory to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) needs to internalize
the signed convention.
“We
need to carry out obligations in-country to domesticate the objectives of the
convention,” noted Mr. Derry.
Ghana
launched its National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) in July 2014 with a Vision
to “ensure a
climate-resilient and climate compatible economy while achieving sustainable
development through equitable low carbon economic growth for Ghana”.
A
strategy has also been developed outlining the necessary actions needed to be
undertaken to meet the aspirations and objectives of the Policy.
The
INDCs therefore provide an opportunity to set standards for Ghana in the
implementation of the NCCP.
Ghana’s
INDCs are focused on both mitigation and adaptation, whilst the basis of
implementation is based on conditional – what the country can do with external
support; and unconditional – what the country can do without external support.
There
is a proposed conditional 35percent reduction target by 2030.
Civil
society is however not enthused at the pace in preparing Ghana’s INDCs and is
keeping keep a critical eye on the country’s submission timelines.
“I
am not happy with the process,” stated Dr. Mensah-Kutin. “I think the timelines
are too tight but we are hopeful; we have to be able to submit because in the
summary if your voice is not there, then we are unable to access the
opportunities that are in there”.
According
to Mr. Derry, financial constraints in accessing technical assistance delayed
the text preparation because Ghana resisted attempts by development partners to
engage external consultants in preparing the INDCs.
He
is however excited that the country is utilizing internal capacity to prepare
home-grown INDCs.
“We
are not going to give our watches to anybody to look at it and tell us our
time,” stated Mr. Derry. “We have a Made-In-Ghana INDCs and not an INDC that
has been superimposed on us; so be rest assured that the INDCs that are being
prepared are prepared by Ghanaians, for Ghanaians and would be implemented by
Ghanaians”.
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