SEND Ghana engages stakeholders on domestic climate financing

A climate change finance and accountability inception workshop has been held by SEND Ghana, a Non-governmental Organisation, to gather inputs from stakeholders on the possible ways of garnering financial support for climate adaptation and mitigation activities in Ghana.

The virtual inception meeting held on the title; “Domestic Climate Finance Accountability Landscape (CFA) in Ghana”, would aid the implementation of a project that seeks to undertake an assessment of the climate finance accountability landscape in Ghana.”

Ghana is expected to mobilise about $22.6 billion from both local and international sources to implement its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The NDCs are strategies earmarked by countries to help in adapting the impact of climate change.

Already, Ghana since last year, started discussions to look for ways of mobilising its local share of $6.3 billion to implement the NDCs.

Mr George Osei-Bimpeh, Country Director, SEND Ghana explained to the participants that in collaboration with the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), SEND Ghana, was undertaking the assessment to serve as a basis for designing appropriate and relevant interventions that would promote accountable utilization of climate finance.

The purpose of the workshop, he said, was therefore, to introduce the project to stakeholders for their buy-ins and to generate information and feedback to strengthen the CFA assessment.

He said the action also formed part of the “Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Change in Africa” (IBFCCA) initiative.

He said IBFCCA initiative was a partnership project being implemented by the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regional office in Addis, International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

He said the broader objective would help promote climate resilience in Africa and support governments and other stakeholders to benefit from the opportunities of a just transition to a net-zero carbon future.

Also, IBFCCA was expected to support reforms to integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation into the budget process, and to increase public accountability for climate-related public finance management.

Mr Osei-Bimpong explained that the project would be delivered through effective engagement with stakeholders and would, among others, examine the current arrangements for integrating gender into climate change budgeting, while exploring whether there were institutions and systems in place for climate-related or gender-related budget and finance accountability.

Additionally, it would investigate the extent, to which women, particularly women in poverty, have and access opportunities to engage in climate-related budgeting and oversight processes.

He said activities implemented under the action were expected to contribute to increasing people understanding of the current climate finance accountability landscape as well as inform efforts to support government and non-government actors in African countries to establish and utilise the systems, processes, and practices to ensure that climate change financing was used accountably and transparently to address climate change concerns.

That, he said, would include; how funds meet climate-related needs of vulnerable populations.

There was also an aspect of Identifying future interventions that could help ensure that accountability actors, particularly Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Parliamentarians, and government auditors, have the information, opportunities, and capacity needed to contribute to more transparent and accountable use of climate finance.

He charged the participants to commit to supporting the successful implementation of the project, and generate information and feedback to strengthen the CFA assessment.

The participants, which included; state and non-state actors such as Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), the Metropolitans, Municipalities, and Districts Assemblies, CSOs and the media working on climate change and climate change financing accountability and transparency, welcomed the Assessment project and committed their readiness to supporting it.