{"id":445521,"date":"2011-06-22T08:46:18","date_gmt":"2011-06-22T08:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/22\/ghana-interesting-climate-change-developments\/"},"modified":"2011-06-22T08:46:18","modified_gmt":"2011-06-22T08:46:18","slug":"ghana-interesting-climate-change-developments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/22\/ghana-interesting-climate-change-developments\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana: Interesting Climate Change Developments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Public Agenda<\/a> (Accra)<\/p>\n

Frederick Asiamah<\/p>\n

20 June 2011<\/p>\n

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column<\/p>\n

The plan was to follow up on last week’s discussion with a further look at climate change – especially its forms and the mechanisms that exist for combating it. But too many significant and interesting things have happened this week which you need to be informed about.<\/p>\n

These happenings contain so many lessons for you, me, him\/her, and the nation Ghana with regards to churning out ideas, principles and policies. Surely, we will return to the discussion of core climate change issues next week, granted that the Almighty keeps us alive.<\/p>\n

Hope for developing countries at COP 17 in South Africa?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our first topic of interest is the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, which ended last Friday. It is important to indicate that the meeting had two separate sessions involving two UN bodies meeting simultaneously over 12 days. First, the 34th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) took place from 6-16 June. Then, the second part of the fourteenth session of the AWG-LCA and the second part of the sixteenth session of the AWG-KP took place from 7-17 June.<\/p>\n

At the close of the meeting on Friday, the UN’s climate change chief said that the negotiations had made clear advances on key issues and were also identifying areas that will require high-level political leadership ahead of the annual conference in Durban. South Africa’s city of Durban is the venue for the 17th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP 17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).<\/p>\n

“A central political question that has crystallized during this session is how further emission reduction commitments by developed countries can be taken forward in the broader context of the emerging climate change regime,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.<\/p>\n

One thing she said, which is of particular interest to Africans, and indeed Ghana, was that the Kyoto Protocol remained critically important because it contained key rules to quantify and monitor efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and important market-based mechanisms that enable cost-effective mitigation.<\/p>\n

Warning against the possibility of a looming regulatory gap between Kyoto Protocol commitment periods, she said: “Governments can double their efforts and come forward with middle ground solutions and options which are acceptable to all sides.”<\/p>\n

Don’t forget that, at previous meetings, developing countries including Africa had maintained a quest for an extension of the commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. (If you are new to climate change and too many technicalities are beginning to emerge do not worry, we shall tackle all these in subsequent editions).<\/p>\n

But dwelling on the Durban meeting, Ms Figueres gave an indication of proegressive discussions, saying, regarding implementation of Cancun’s (the COP16 meeting in Mexico in 2010) comprehensive package to support developing country actions on climate change, the Bonn sessions had paved the way for progress at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban (COP 17) at the end of this year.<\/p>\n

According to her, the incoming South African presidency (hosts of COPs assume presidency for the meetings) had been actively consulting and planning for the meeting and that its efforts were well received.<\/p>\n

“The incoming South African presidency has consulted with all governments on what they see as a possible outcome for Durban,” she said. “This includes the Kyoto Protocol and the global mitigation framework; operationalizing the Adaptation Committee, as well as stronger action on adaptation; the design of the Green Climate Fund, as well as identification of sources for long-term funding; and concrete progress on the Technology Mechanism so that it can be operational in 2012.”<\/p>\n

In the run-up to Durban, South Africa plans to engage at a higher political level to prepare for the decisions that need to be made at COP 17. So far, a ministerial conference has been planned for 2 to 3 July in Berlin, and Ministers will also meet approximately a month ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in South Africa. In addition, South Africa is considering a third ministerial consultation this year.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the incoming South African presidency and the current Mexican presidency are planning to engage Heads of State and Government on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.<\/p>\n

It may appear that the outcomes of the Bonn meeting are encouraging but are they enough to secure for African and developing countries a fair, binding and ambitious agreement in Durban? Keep watching this page.<\/p>\n

Ghanaian company wins first prize at green energy awards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously, Ghana is one of many nations that emit insignificant amounts of green house gases but suffer immensely from climate change. This, however, does not preclude the nation from implementing measures that can lessen the impact of climate change on its citizens.<\/p>\n

It is therefore heartwarming that Ghana has opened itself up for interventions, especially from corporate citizens, that minimize climate change impacts, particularly on poor communities.<\/p>\n

One of such corporate citizens is Toyola Energy Ltd, Ghana, an energy company based in the country. On Thursday night, the world’s most prestigious green energy awards announced Toyola has been selected as the Gold Award winner of this year’s Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.<\/p>\n

Toyola Ghana was awarded the coveted Gold Award worth \u00c2\u00a340,000 in recognition of its success in making over 150,000 efficient charcoal stoves and marketing them to low-income families at very affordable prices.<\/p>\n

Winners from Pakistan, India and Africa were also announced at a VIP ceremony in London addressed by Greg Barker, UK Government Minister for Climate Change, organizers of the award said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Sarah Butler-Sloss, Founder Director of the Ashden Awards and chair of the judging panel said: “Toyola Energy Ltd. has taken a simple stove technology, adapted it to make it more robust and efficient and then focused it’s efforts on making the stoves accessible to the poor so that they can save money and have cleaner, healthier environments to cook in. In the meantime Ghana’s forests are protected and greenhouse emissions reduced. This is a perfect example of how much can be achieved through the use of simple, clean energy technologies and clever, pro-poor marketing strategies”<\/p>\n

The Ashden Awards showcase practical solutions to combat climate change and meet the energy needs of the poor, rewarding outstanding and innovative clean energy schemes across the developing world and in the UK.<\/p>\n

The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Ashden Awards, who personally congratulated the international winners in a meeting earlier on Thursday, said: “The Ashden Awards show what it is possible to do now in saving resources and cutting emissions. They remind us how, as individuals, we can make a huge difference to the world in which we live. \u00e3–In a nutshell, they remind us that acting locally is, in fact, acting globally.”<\/p>\n

Toyala’s work<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ashden Awards organizers recognized that by cutting the use of charcoal by around a third, Toyola’s stoves save trees, reduce carbon emissions and allow families to make considerable savings. They are also easy to cook with and are far less smoky than the traditional charcoal stoves that can cause breathing difficulties and, often, severe eye irritation over time. There is also 90% less chance of accidental burns when using a Toyola stove as compared to traditional stoves.<\/p>\n

By allowing the customers to buy the stoves on credit and use the money saved on charcoal to make repayments, Toyola ensures that the stoves are accessible to the poor: As one user puts it: “When I got the stove I was given this money box and every day I would put money in. When I eventually removed the money I had enough for the stove.” Josephine Adjololo<\/p>\n

In a country where most urban households spend a significant proportion of their household income cooking on inefficient and polluting charcoal stoves, Toyola’s success is significant. Toyola’s stoves are currently saving around 26,000 tonnes of charcoal a year – a tangible success given that charcoal comes largely from unsustainable sources.<\/p>\n

The levels of CO2 reductions achieved – around 150,000 tonnes a year – has attracted the attention of Goldman Sachs who now buys Toyola’s carbon offsets and sells them on the global market. Toyola has just opened a production centre in Togo and plans to open more centres in Benin and Sierra Leone in the next two years, stepping up sales to a further 140,000 stoves by 2013.<\/p>\n

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\nGhana: Interesting Climate Change Developments<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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