The 350 delegates traveling to Egypt for the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) are not being reimbursed by the government.
The majority of the delegation, which included state and non-state actors, was supported by development partners, according to Mrs. Cynthia Asare Bediako, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MESTI), she told the Ghana News Agency.
“MESTI is in charge of organizing and registering attendees for the yearly meeting. This does not imply that all of these delegates are sponsored by the government. There aren’t many delegates who are flying on the government’s dime, she claimed.
Their funding comes from a variety of organizations, including the World Bank, Climate Vulnerability Forum, UNDP, and UNICEF. These organizations also pay for some representatives of the Ghanaian government to attend the conference, the speaker stated.
The purpose of COP27 is to mobilize nations to act in support of the Paris Agreement and Convention’s global climate goals.
The states are anticipated to show during COP 27 that they are in a new era of implementation by putting their pledges under the Paris Agreement into action, building on the outcomes and momentum of COP 26 in Glasgow last year.
The conference will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 6–8, 2022.
In response to the inquiry about the large number of attendees, she stated that Ghana would have needed “many individuals to participate in the many technical negotiations at the yearly conference” but for insufficient funds.
“Ghana would benefit more from the conference if more people attend since they will learn about and comprehend the concerns. They will then assist in putting the climate plans into action.
The COP serves as a venue for fund-raising and establishing alliances for technical assistance. More technical hands are needed to assist, she said.
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister of MESTI, noted that 226 of the 322 attendees at the Pre-COP Press Conference on Thursday, November 3, 2022, were from official institutions.
There were 24 members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and about 72 non-state players.
“NGOs and partner institutions make up half of the number on the government platform,” he clarified.
“As a result, there are approximately 150 government employees at the COP.
According to him, those in attendance will take part in a variety of programming, including negotiations, workshops, side events, and bilateral meetings.
According to estimates, Ghana will need between US$ 9.3 and US$ 15.5 billion in investments to implement the 47 NDCs from 2020 to 2030.