Ghana’s COP24 delegates engage in negotiations on adaption and mitigation

Ghana's COP24 delegation at the on-going Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland, have been participating in negotiations relating to adaptation and mitigation, renewable energy, and emission reduction in the forestry sector among other things.

The delegation, led by Mr Kyekyeku Oppong Boadi, the United Nations Climate Change Focal Person in Ghana, is made up of officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Energy Commission, the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the National Disaster Management Organisation are also participating among other delegates.

Speaking at a separate meeting with the delegates in Katowice, Mr Oppong Boadi said because the time of most of the negotiation sessions were conflicting, the Ghanaian negotiators should identify thematic areas where Ghana was not represented and strategies to address those areas as well.

As the first week of the COP24 closes to give way to the second and final week of the conference on Monday, December 10, various ministers of state are expected to participate in the ministerial session.

Ghana’s ministerial delegation would be led by Mrs Patricia Appiagyei, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, who is expected to represent the Sector Minister, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

Other officials for the session include Mr John Pwamang, the Acting Executive Director of the EPA, and Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, the Executive Secretary of the Forestry Commission.

Meanwhile, the on-going 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) is expected to adopt a package of decisions that would ensure the full implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, in accordance with the decisions adopted in Paris (COP21) and in Marrakesh COP22 (CMA1.1).

Moreover, COP24 is featuring the “Facilitative Dialogue,” which is intended to support the implementation of national commitments.

In a related development, on Saturday, December 8, hundreds of activists demonstrated around the COP area in Katowice, amid heavy security presence, demanding for immediate action from world leaders to save the planet.

The demonstration, temporarily halted operations of commercial buses and taxis around the COP24 vicinity with some delegates spotted by the Ghana News Agency having to walk to the bus and train stations to board to their various hotels.

The 13-day event, being attended by more than 20,000 delegates from 190 countries, is on the theme: “Changing Together”.