Zanetor urges Ghana to take stronger role in shaping global climate finance

Minister-designate for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has called for a shift in Ghana’s approach to international climate partnerships, arguing that the country must play a more influential role in determining how climate resources are mobilised and used.

According to her, Ghana and other African countries cannot afford to remain passive participants in global climate initiatives while decisions on financing and interventions are largely shaped outside the continent.

2Speaking during her vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday, August 27, Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said African countries must position themselves strategically to benefit from the growing global focus on climate action.

She said the continent’s participation should go beyond accepting support from international partners to actively influencing the policies, financing structures and programmes designed to address climate change.

“Africa’s ability to buy into this concern. And not just buy into it, where we will not just be spectators, but we will practically penetrate from this concern,” she said.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said Ghana must also examine its international partnerships more carefully to determine whether they are producing tangible benefits for the country.

She noted that Ghana has responsibilities under various international arrangements, including those connected to climate financing, but stressed that these commitments should be matched by deliberate efforts to secure resources for national development.

“Under the agreement, we’re meant to provide a fund that was to support the climate fund,” she told the committee.

The minister-designate cautioned against treating African countries as though they have identical climate challenges simply because they face some common environmental threats.

She said differences in national circumstances must be taken into account when designing climate partnerships and programmes.

“As a country, we need to look at these two partners. They have shared similar problems, but they have different issues,” she said.

For Ghana, she said, international cooperation must therefore be tailored to the country’s specific environmental and developmental priorities rather than following a uniform model.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings further stressed that African countries need to build stronger institutional and technical capacity to negotiate climate partnerships and access available financing.

She said securing climate funds should not be viewed as an end in itself, adding that the resources must ultimately support projects that improve resilience and contribute to sustainable development.

She also called for greater African ownership of climate programmes, insisting that countries on the continent should have a stronger say in determining how interventions are designed and implemented.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said a more assertive African position in global climate discussions, coupled with carefully structured partnerships, would be necessary to ensure that climate finance delivers practical benefits to communities.

She maintained that Ghana’s future engagement with international climate initiatives should focus not only on meeting global commitments but also on ensuring that the country is well positioned to secure and effectively deploy resources to address its own climate-related challenges.