According to Samuel A. Jinapor, minister of lands and natural resources, “the implications of climate change are trans-jurisdictional, and we cannot continue to work in silos if we are to undertake action at scale.”
On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the second day of COP27, Mr. Jinapor made this call while participating in a panel discussion titled “Turning Ambition into Action: Driving Supply Chain Collaboration to Halt and Reverse Deforestation and Land Degradation,” at the invitation of the Government of the United Kingdom. He was also joined by Ministers from the Ivory Coast and Brazil.
The United States of America’s government invited the sector minister to take part in a panel discussion at the COP27 event on nature-based solutions for the climate, society, and biodiversity.
Mr. Jinapor stated during this separate debate that nature-based solutions have the potential to provide up to one-third of the world’s climate solutions, but “we cannot deliver at scale if we do not put farmers and members of periphery communities at the center.”
According to him, Ghana is committed to ensuring sustainable production that benefits both producers and consumers through its REDD+ Strategy and other initiatives like the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI).
The Sector Minister also attended the Ghanaian Pavilion to hear President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo discuss Ghana’s plans for increasing collaboration and impact investment, as well as the country’s current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He said that under the illustrious leadership of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana has reduced deforestation by 13% and has recorded her first emission reductions, which have been verified and validated by independent third parties, at a value of 972,456 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (972,456 tCO2e), generating a results-cased carbon payment of 4 million, 860,000, two hundred thousand dollars.
He said that the nation is also on track to meet the European Union’s need to trade in legal wood, making it the first African nation to do so and the second in the world overall.
The Lands Minister of Ghana praised President Akufo-initiatives Addo’s and stated that as a climate-aware leader, he continues to lead the country in implementing nature-based climate change solutions.
He assured them that the Ministry will keep collaborating with the rest of the globe to address the climate crisis.