By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Oct. 04, GNA - The European Union (EU) has said it shared in Ghana's vision to working assiduously to stem greenhouse gas emissions for the wellbeing and safety of the people.
Ms Diana Acconcia, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, stated that: "We need to do this together, this is because the emissions are harmful to mankind and the sustenance of life on earth".
She cited greenhouse gas emissions as one of the major causes of climate change, explaining that the effects had already brought untold hardships to the world.
The EU, currently, is championing the cause to get member states cut emissions to net zero by 2050 under its 'Green Deal'.
Ms Acconcia, who was addressing a ceremony in Kumasi to mark the 'European Union Climate Diplomacy Week', said it was in the best interest of all and sundry that the environment was protected.
The programme, supported by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), had been designed to create awareness amongst the citizenry on the reality of climate change and global efforts being pursued to mitigate its effects.
It comes in the wake of the United Nations' recent Climate Action Summit, which sought to enhance nationally determined contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade.
Activities lined-up for the week included tree-planting exercise, stakeholder meetings and sensitization workshops.
It brought together students, environmental youth groups and activists, opinion leaders, policy-makers and civil society organizations to brainstorm on treaties, protocols and policy frameworks guiding Ghana's agenda on climate change and the environment in general.
Ms Acconcia indicated that it was necessary for metropolitan, municipal and district authorities to incorporate into their development plans, programmes that sought to promote cleaner, greener and resilient economies.
"We need green interventions for sustainable growth," she noted, saying Ghana as a developing nation had a lot to derive from pursuing a 'green economy'.
The EU Ambassador said as part of the nation's industrialization strategy, policy-makers should incorporate climate-friendly policies for long-term socio-economic development.
Ms Victoria Michaels, a Ghanaian international model and environmental activist, said the world must act to stop the harmful effects of climate change since the mass heatwaves across the globe was threatening biodiversity.
She advised that Ghana took pragmatic measures to address the plastic waste menace to help save the environment from deteriorating.
Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, hinted that "Kumasi is working around the clock to build a climate-resistant city for the future".
This, he said, was being done in consonance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressing that the Metropolitan Assembly had overseen over the last two years the mass planting of trees in Ghana's second-largest city.
GNA
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