The programme was a coordinated sub-platform for the CSOs to come together with their achievement and recommendation to outline participatory activities in the pursuit of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 13) on climate change.

The Kasa Initiative, Ghana and CARE International facilitated the meeting and was attended by representatives of CSOs across the country. Dr Daniel Benefo at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a speech said the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a universal vision that set a new trajectory for addressing climate change.

He said the new move would offer opportunities to countries to develop a low-carbon climate resilient ways, which would help Ghana to lower its greenhouse gas emission by 15 per cent by 2030. Dr Bemefo said an additional 30 per cent emission reduction could be attainable on condition that external support like finance, technology transfer and capacity building was made available to Ghana to cover cost of implementing the mitigation action.

Mrs Ugonna Ukaigwe, the National Coordinator of Ghana Civil Society Platform on Sustainable Development Goals called on the various CSOs to register their platforms with the National Civil Society Organisations Database to help share information for the attainment of the SDGs. Mr Yakubu Zakaria, the Coordinator of CARE International and the Co-convener of the SDG 13, said Ghana’s integrated response to climate change was the National Climate Change Policy and that it had three phases that addressed four major areas of concerns.

The areas to be addressed in Ghana are; the increasing Green House Gas emissions and loss of car in sinks, increasing temperature, rainfall variability leading to extreme and unpredictable events, and sea-level rise. He said the fight for climate change mitigation was not easy and urged the CSOs not to rest on their oars while calling on the Ministry of Finance to engage the CSOs in Green Climate Fund meetings to solicit their views.

Mr Peter Bruun Clausen, the Policy Advisor for CARE international said it was challenging to follow the many development in the climate sector and however advised the CSOs to stay focused and provide timely inputs into programming. He commended the CSOs for coming together to assess their own intervention and to strategise effective engagement with government on climate change issues.

Mrs Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, the Chairperson of Kasa Initiative, Ghana and the Conveners of the SDG 13 advised Ghanaians to desist from uncoordinated mining, farming, and deforestation, which were liable to environmental destruction, saying; “nature does not need man but man needs nature.” The participants at the meeting called for action to deepen women and youth inclusion in climate change alleviation in the country, while appealing to government to increase its efforts in mainstreaming climate change policy in local governance across the ministries, departments and agencies.