Ghana’s plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 10 million tonnes in the cocoa-forest landscape from 2020 onwards and the report that 250 local and foreign companies have so far registered to participate in the forthcoming Volta Trade and Investment Fair are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 10 million tonnes in the cocoa-forest landscape from 2020 onwards, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
This, he said, would be done through the implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, one of five ecological landscape-tailored programmes in Ghana’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) Strategy.
He said this when he participated in the World Leader’s Summit on protecting the world’s forests and oceans, held on the sidelines of United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties ( COP 26) ongoing here.
REDD+ is a United Nations-backed framework that aims to curb climate change by stopping the destruction of forests.
The Summit, a special session of the 12-day global conference, which has brought together 30,000 delegates from across the globe to discuss climate actions on the theme ‘Keeping 1.5 alive; ensuring it is still possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, Ghana, through her Nationally Determined Contributions in the forestry sector, was committed to supporting the global target of halving emissions by 2030, and attaining neutrality by 2050.
He also announced that the country had begun preparations to plant a minimum of 20 million trees, next year as part of efforts to address deforestation and forest degradation.
The newspaper says that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Ghana will continue to implement measures to combat climate change repercussions but it would not abandon efforts to develop the country through the use of its natural resources.
He said it was completely unfair for the world to demand that Africa abandons the exploration of its abundant natural resources to help address climate change when that is the continent’s best shot at development and ability to cope better with climate change.
“Ghana acknowledges the importance and effects of Climate Change, and the urgent need to combat it, and we acknowledge equally the importance of protecting our development.
“We believe that a balance must be struck and maintained between our social, economic and environmental imperatives”, he said this yesterday when he delivered the country’s statement at the World Leaders’ Summit as part of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
President Akufo-Addo, taking his turn, expressed disappointment in the failure of wealthy nations to honour their commitments of making available US$100 billion annually to the poorer countries to assist them in the fight against climate change.
He said it was worrying that the development of these same nations who are insisting that the continent abandon the opportunity for rapid development, was hinged on the exploitation of their natural resources at the expense of pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases.
Even today, he said the western world is responsible for 76 per cent of carbon emissions.
President Akufo- Addo said even though Africa are the least of the contributors to this phenomenon, which is less than four per cent of the global volume of carbon emissions, it suffers the most because its resource-driven economies were peculiarly susceptible to the effects of climate change, and it’s capacity to withstand its shocks is weak.
He said agriculture, water, energy, and the extraction of mineral resources which were the essential drivers of developments were at the same time sensitive to changing climate.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that some 250 local and foreign companies have so far registered to participate in the forthcoming Volta Trade and Investment Fair slated for the November 15-28 this year.
The event dubbed 5th Volta Fair is under the theme: Promoting sustainable trade and investment.
According to the Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, 6 000 people are expected at the fair which will focus mainly on agribusiness, tourism and ICT.
The registered exhibitors are from India, China, Benin, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
“The Volta Fair in 2019 was successful and this year the fair will definitely lift Volta Region to astonishing heights,” Dr Letsa said at the Ho Residency yesterday (Tuesday).
Giving an update on preparations towards the event at meeting with stakeholders and the media, he said that adequate measures had been adopted to guarantee security during the fair.
The Regional Minister said that the fair would not be an end in itself, but it would rather be a means to an end by promoting the rapid growth of businesses, creating jobs for young people and encouraging industrial networks among entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, Rev Isaac Adzatettey, Volta Regional Planning Officer has disclosed that an expenditure amount of GHS2.5million was projected to prosecute the Volta Fair successfully.
“This will be contributions from stakeholders, sponsorship drive and sale of fair prospectus to exhibitors in addition to general support from well-meaning Voltarians and the business community,” he added
GIK/APA