The world has to be saved from the effects of climate change, according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who has remarked that it is time for leaders to walk the walk and restore faith in leadership.
"It's time to put words into action and aspirations into deeds. People all across the globe will be watching the decision-makers at COP 27 with the planet in flames and under flood waters. The President warned leaders at the Climate Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that if they want to avoid being condemned by history, they must deliver.
He emphasized the need for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 27, to fulfil its pledge to quadruple funding for initiatives to adapt to climate change in Africa.
Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme
The purpose of the summit, which was organized by the Global Centre on Adaptation and open to both in-person and online participation, was to increase attention for and financial support for the continent's premier Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP).
The groundwork for a breakthrough in adaptation for Africa at COP 27 was laid in cooperation with the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Africa Adaptation Initiative, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
Even though many leaders were scheduled to attend, only the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and three African leaders — President Akufo-Addo, President Macky Sall of Senegal, and President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — were present.
Some wealthy nations promised to increase their contributions to adaptation financing from 2019 levels by 2025 at the COP 26 Summit last year. As a result, it will rise from $20 billion to $40 billion annually.
According to President Akufo-Addo, many nations stood the risk of missing out on making important strides because the world had broken its pledge to assist efforts to push for climate adaptation financially.
Consequences of inaction
Despite tremendous progress achieved via the AAAP on climate emergency, he added, "the result of not putting words into action implies that, as a middle-income country, Ghana stands to lose out to the consequences of more severe and frequent climate hazards."
He emphasized that a deliberate effort was required to remove Africa from the crossroads, claiming that while having the least impact on the climate emergency, the region was experiencing more severe climate-related extreme consequences.
"We must adapt to climate change if we want our continent to prosper. And in order to do this, adaptation money must begin to flow widely. The complicated geopolitical age we are living through cannot allow climate action to fail, President Akufo-Addo said.