Sekondi-takoradi: The Friends of the Nation (FoN), a non-governmental organisation, has hosted a stakeholder engagement aimed at addressing the national response to mitigating methane emissions. This initiative is part of a broader effort to combat global warming and reduce climate change impacts within the country.
According to Ghana News Agency, the engagement was conducted under the Methane Advocacy Project, serving as a platform to integrate Ghana’s efforts into the ongoing global discussions on controlling methane emissions. The event gathered stakeholders from various sectors, including media, industry, academia, District Assemblies, and civil society organisations within the Western Region.
Mr. William Augustine-Denkyi, a Project Officer with FoN, highlighted that the meeting aimed to provide insights into global and national strategies for methane reduction. It also sought to gather feedback on Ghana’s draft measures for mitigating methane emissions. He noted that the Global Methane Assessment indicates a crucial need to reduce global methane emissions by 40-45 per cent by 2030 to maintain the global temperature rise within the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
Mr. Augustine-Denkyi emphasized the significant health and economic benefits of reducing methane emissions, stating that curbing just one million tons of methane can prevent thousands of premature deaths and hospitalizations, while also reducing the annual loss of staple crops.
Alhaji Abu Mahama, Development Planning Officer at the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, pointed out that waste management is a primary source of methane emissions. He mentioned that a sustainable waste management strategy is being launched at the household level, which includes providing three bins for organic, inorganic, and solid waste as part of a bio-digester cluster project.
Engineer Douglas Ahinkorah Asuako-Ferkah, Area Head of the Environmental Protection Authority in charge of the Ellembelle, Nzema-East, and Jomoro municipalities, warned of the life-threatening nature of methane emissions, stressing the importance of implementing control measures by 2030.
Participants at the meeting urged for the strengthening of the national tree planting exercise and emphasized the need for city authorities to prioritize effective waste management mechanisms to further reduce methane emissions.
