The meeting, convened by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is focusing on how nations can better assess climate-related damage and determine whether their response measures are effective. 

Opening the meeting in Accra, Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, the Chief Executive Officer,  Environmental Protection Agency, said one of the biggest challenges facing African countries was the inability to clearly demonstrate how climate change was affecting their economies and communities. 

The Accra meeting brought together about 60 experts from around the world to explore practical and comparable approaches to assessing climate impacts. 

Prof Klutse explained that without reliable methods to measure impacts such as coastal erosion, flooding, drought and rising temperatures, it becomes difficult to determine financial losses and justify the level of support required. 

“If we cannot measure the impact properly, we cannot estimate the cost. And if we cannot estimate the cost, it becomes difficult to discuss financing,” she said. 

She noted that Ghana, like many African countries, was experiencing serious climate-related challenges, with coastal communities losing land to rising sea levels, farmers facing unpredictable rainfall patterns and urban areas battling frequent floods. 

Prof Klutse stressed that building local scientific capacity was critical to strengthening Africa’s negotiating position under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and urged governments to invest more in research and data collection to support evidence-based climate policies. 

“Climate change is already affecting our people. We must understand it properly if we want to respond effectively,” she said. 

Mr Seidu Issifu, Minister of State in charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, called for clearer and more robust methods to measure countries’ adaptation efforts.  

While global understanding of climate change impacts had improved, he said measuring adaptation progress remained a challenge. 

He noted that guidelines developed by the IPCC in 1994 had shaped global understanding of climate impacts. 

Although several international frameworks had since been introduced to support adaptation planning, progress in measuring adaptation lagged behind. 

“Gaps remain in evaluating how effective adaptation options are and in understanding what enables or limits adaptation,” he said. 

Dr Bart van den Hurk, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group II, emphasised the need to understand how impacts differ across regions, communities and sectors to support better decision-making. 

“Adaptation is at the heart of our Working Group’s report. Many challenges lie ahead, but one ambition we have is to hear from as many voices as possible,” he said. 

While there might be broad societal agreement on the need to address climate impacts, differing perspectives, risk appetites and priorities influenced how adaptation was pursued. 

Dr Winston Chow, also Co-Chair of Working Group II, said discussions in Accra would contribute to the IPCC’s next major global report on climate impacts expected in 2028.  

He noted that guidelines used to assess climate impacts and adaptation were developed more than 30 years ago and now required updating to reflect present realities. 

Responding to questions, officials acknowledged that global crises, including conflicts, could worsen environmental challenges by increasing emissions and diverting attention from climate action.  

They stressed that peace, stability and strong institutions were essential to advancing sustainable development and climate resilience. 

The outcomes of the Accra meeting are expected to help countries better document climate damage, strengthen adaptation planning and present clearer evidence when seeking international climate support.