44% of locals unaware of climate change – UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said 44 percent of Ghanaians are unaware of climate change and its impact on the environment.

Silke Hollander, UNDP Ghana Resident Representative, addressing a youth gathering on the theme Climate Action at the 2019 Social Good Summit (SGS) held in the Bank of Ghana Auditorium, University of Ghana-Legon, said there is limited climate change literacy among Africans.

“Climate change is being referred to as the defining development challenge of our time; and, sadly, Africa as a continent is very vulnerable to its consequences, particularly in regard to impacts on Agriculture. In Ghana, 44 percent have not heard of climate change,” she said.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC), organised the 10th edition of the Social Good Summit (SGS) on climate action to open up conversations happening at the UN General Assembly.

The aim of the Social Good Summit is to dialogue with the relevant stakeholders whose mandate it is to protect the environment, and to sensitise the youth on implications of their actions and the need to help in safeguarding the environment.

SGS is a youth programme that started ten years ago as a collaborative effort by the UNDP, Mashable, United Nations Foundation and 92nd Street Y to provide the space for different voices to be heard on selected themes for each year to open up the UN General Assembly in New York.

Silke Hollander further encouraged Ghanaian youth to make their voices heard in climate action, and indicated that youth and public mobilisation is one of the nine tracks of the climate action summit. Young leaders from around the world will convene to engage with global leaders and showcase climate solutions at the youth climate summit, a which she hopes Ghanaian youth will also make their voices heard.

The government of Ghana is to be commended for being one of the first countries to have ratified the ‘Paris Agreement’ on climate change, and the focus now is on implementation.

UNDP Ghana is partnering with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre to join the global community in using the 2019 SGs to bring climate action to the forefront of conservation and commit to fighting for the planet earth.

The Summit brought together about 300 participants made up of young people, policymakers and influencers, climate activists and innovators of climate-smart initiatives for constructive dialogue and onward action.