Gov’t undertakes policies to strengthen climate governance at subnational level

Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Mr Seidu Issifu

The Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Mr Seidu Issifu, has highlighted the work being undertaken by the government to strengthen climate governance at the subnational level.

He said this at the Inter-Ministerial and Agency Technical Working Group Meeting on Monday in Accra.

He stated that the climate change office has engaged approximately 55 MMDAs and five Regional Coordinating Councils across Ghana’s five Northern Regions as part of the initiative.

The Minister noted that the engagements have provided significant opportunities for strengthening local climate governance to improve access to climate finance.

“A major component of this work is the proposed flagship Climate Change and Sustainability Hub initiative, alongside efforts to institutionalise Climate Change Units within Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies,” he said.

He added that the initiative has helped ensure that climate interventions are better aligned with the needs and priorities of communities.

“The establishment of Climate Change Units at the local level is therefore expected to provide a more structured institutional mechanism for coordinating climate-related activities, mainstreaming climate considerations into local development planning and strengthening the capacity of assemblies to identify and pursue climate finance opportunities,” he stated.

Mr Issifu emphasised that empowering local institutions was essential to achieving meaningful climate action because many of the impacts of climate change were experienced directly at the community level.