Ghana's Economic Growth threatened by Climate change- CCAG warns

Sep 24, 2024 - 14:17

Accra, Ghana - September 24, 2024 - The Climate Crisis Advisory Group (CCAG) has warned that Ghana must navigate a delicate balance between political stability, economic resilience, and climate change challenges as the country approaches the December elections.

In its latest report, "Solving the Climate Change Conundrum," CCAG identifies Ghana's economic reliance on primary products, dependence on gold and oil, vulnerability of the agriculture sector, political tensions, and economic instability as key challenges exacerbated by climate change.

CCAG indicated that “Climate is never far from the many strands of political and economic narrative in Ghana.”

“However, climate change is not an explicit part of political dialogue. A senior policymaker might consider ‘climate’ as a factor in deliberations, but in the eyes of voters, economic considerations – the cost of living and employment prospects – is crucial,” the report added.

Fatima Denton, the CCAG member, noted that this position is problematic because current economic hardship is related in many ways to the impacts of climate change.

Fatima Denton is a CCAG member

“The fact of being the second largest cocoa producer, and as a commodity economy, Ghana is seeing hardship that it hasn’t seen in the last 10 to 20 years – largely because the production of cocoa is more difficult.”

“Ghana’s wealth of resources, including oil, gold, and gas, suggests that the country could be in a stronger and more advantageous position, despite the pressures of climate change, but even in these other fields, shifting global markets are affected by many factors, including the global climate crisis,” she added.

CCAG urges policymakers to:

- Implement climate-resilient agriculture practices
- Invest in renewable energy sources
- Develop sustainable infrastructure
- Provide social protection programs for vulnerable communities

Ghana's economic growth is projected to slow down to 1.5% in 2023 and 2.8% in 2024, with climate change posing significant risks to the country's development.

Source :Lead News Online