Journalists advocate less use of air conditioners

A three-day training workshop for journalists on climate change has ended with a call on individuals and corporate bodies to limit the use of air conditioners because they adversely affect the weather pattern.

The participants noted the use of air conditioners whether at home, in vehicles and offices as fueling the release of more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The journalists suggested that windows should from time to time, be opened to allow in fresh air.

The workshop which was organized by the African Adaptation Programme (AAP), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Japanese Government, brought together 20 selected journalists from across the country.

AAP is a scheme to develop capacity and finance options for mainstreaming climate change adaptation in Ghana and 19 other African countries.

The participants also raised concerns about the growing deforestation through logging, farming activities and wildfires.

These needed to be tackled head-on to prevent extreme weather conditions.

The journalists maintained that the rise in temperatures and the decrease in rainfall as well as its unpredictability was likely to jeopardize the employment of about 60 per cent of the active population, majority of whom are into small-scale rural farming.

The impact on the livelihood of these people and food security could be devastating, they added.**