Climate Change is a silent disaster - Environment Minister

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, on Saturday noted that climate change was a 'silent disaster' affecting all Ghanaians and called on the media to pay more attention to issues pertaining to climate change. She said most people are not able to relate properly with issues about climate change which appeared abstract but which was already having a negative impact on economic development.

"Climate change is a risk to the hard won gains made by Ghana since independence," said Ms Ayittey at a meeting with selected editors and media personnel to discuss the issue ahead of an international meeting on climate change scheduled for Denmark in December this year. Millions of people especially in Africa are already suffering from the effects of climate change, she said, citing examples of people migrating from the drought and flood hit areas in some part of the Northern region recently.

Hammering on the low public awareness about the subject and the effects of climate change, Ms Ayittey said over 300,000 deaths are recorded annually due to climate change while over 300 million people are affected severely by climate change annually. She said the impacts of climate change were indiscriminate and affected anybody, emphasizing the need for people to know about the happenings, to facilitate attitudinal change among the wider public. The Minister pointed out that climate change could also affect the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) since it could increase poverty, affect education, women and children, and plunge the whole world into a disaster.

She said Ghana has already lost about 45 per cent of her forest cover, and suggested an efficient regulation of the activities of chain saw operators in the country.

Dr Edward Omane-Boamah, Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, said currently about 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide is produced annually out of which about 17 billion tons is released into the atmosphere. Commenting on Ghana's position in the Copenhagen conference, he said Ghana will go along with Africa's collective decision, and added that it was not likely that Africa will reduce its carbon dioxide emission since the continent contributed very little to carbon dioxide emission globally. "However, we will put in place mitigation measures to reduce the effect of climate change on our people," Dr Omane Boamah said.