Public-private partnerships only way to mitigate climate impact – Bawumia

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated the need for strong collaboration between the private and public sectors to reduce the impact of climate change facing the globe.

“The benefits of synergy between the public and private sectors cannot be overstated. There is a very tall list of instances and impacts of safe partnerships, but the most practical example of this is the joint response of both parties in the pandemic,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Professor Yaw Gyan Baffour, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

He was speaking at the 6th edition of the Sustainability and Social Investment (SSI) Awards, an award scheme that honours individuals and businesses for their consistent investments in socially responsible programmes which have impacted and continue to impact society. The Vice President was honoured as the SSI Disruptive Digital Pioneer. His award was picked up by Prof. Gyan-Baffour.

Dr. Bawumia noted that humans have inadvertently contributed in one way or another to the current state of the planet.

"As we speak, global temperatures have risen by 1.8 degrees or 1 degree centigrade between 1901 and 2020; and the rise in global sea level has accelerated from 1.7 millimetres a year throughout most of the 20th century to 3.2 millimetres a year since 1993. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 25 percent since 1958, and about 40 percent since the Industrial Revolution,” he said.

But he believes that just as humanity came together to fight a pandemic, such collaboration between private and public can easily help mitigate against the climate change impact as is being already felt.

“It was a sharing of other resources, including time and strategies, which brought out the best in us at a time when humanity was most under attack. It is evident in my mind, and I trust in yours as well, that if we are to truly witness meaningful transformation in this regard (climate action), then we will need the private and public sectors to once again collaborate extensively,” he said.