Global climate outlook worrying despite Ghana’s progress – Minister – MyJoyOnline

Ghana’s efforts to curb emissions and strengthen climate resilience are being undermined by faltering global ambition, according to the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Issifu Seidu. Speaking at a high-level gathering on Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) in Accra, he warned that the world’s failure to rein in greenhouse gases is overshadowing the steady, if hard-won, advances made by countries that are taking action.

National progress, global backslide

Ghana has been rolling out policies aligned with its Nationally Determined Contributions and pushing to raise the share of renewable energy in the power mix to 20 percent. These measures, the Minister noted, are designed to cut emissions while keeping economic goals in sight. Yet the broader trajectory remains alarming: a decade after the Paris Agreement, global emissions continue to climb, and average temperatures in 2024 breached the 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels for significant periods.

He pointed to recent assessments indicating that, on the world’s current path, temperatures could rise by as much as 2.8°C by the end of the century. That gap between pledges and real-world outcomes, he said, captures the imbalance at the heart of the crisis—where frontline countries are doing more, but collective progress is stalling.

Unequal burdens across Africa

Despite contributing only a small fraction of historic emissions, African countries are absorbing disproportionate impacts. In Ghana and across the region, climate extremes are displacing communities and threatening livelihoods, particularly where agriculture, water resources, and informal economies are most exposed.

• Health: Rising heat is taxing clinics and hospitals, with heat-related illnesses already a pressing issue in northern Ghana. Warmer temperatures are also expanding the range of vector-borne diseases, while food systems strain under erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells, compounding nutrition risks.
• Infrastructure and economy: Floods and destructive storms are damaging roads, bridges, homes, and businesses, causing costly disruptions. Without decisive adaptation, modeling suggests that climate stressors could push at least one million additional Ghanaians into poverty by 2050.

These cascading impacts, he emphasized, make it clear that adaptation and resilience-building must accelerate alongside emissions cuts—not only to safeguard development gains, but to protect vulnerable households from falling deeper into hardship.

SRM: high stakes, unresolved questions

As warming intensifies, interest has grown in Solar Radiation Modification—techniques that aim to reflect a small portion of sunlight back to space to cool the planet. The Minister cautioned that such approaches do not tackle the root problem of greenhouse gas accumulation. Even if SRM could temporarily lower global temperatures, it would leave ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, and other carbon-driven harms unaddressed. It could also carry significant physical, geopolitical, and ethical risks.

Ghana, in line with broader African positions, remains opposed to deploying SRM at this time due to its uncertainties and potential for uneven regional effects. Still, he argued, it is essential for African governments, scientists, and civil society to deepen their technical understanding, strengthen governance capacity, and engage proactively in international debates that could shape decisions with continental repercussions.

Building knowledge, shaping policy

The Accra convening brought together diplomats, researchers, and policy specialists from across Africa to examine SRM science, tools, and governance needs. Participants explored the spectrum of proposed techniques—such as stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening—along with their possible climate impacts and the pitfalls of premature experimentation. The discussions underscored the need for robust global rules, transparent research, and inclusive decision-making processes that center vulnerable regions.

Scientists from multiple countries also shared new insights into how climate change is unfolding in their local contexts—ranging from shifting rainfall patterns and extreme heat to shoreline erosion and freshwater stress. Those findings reinforced the urgency of scaling up clean energy, transforming food systems, protecting nature-based carbon sinks, and investing in community-level adaptation.

From rhetoric to results

The Minister’s message was clear: national action will not suffice without meaningful global momentum. To stabilize the climate while safeguarding development, major emitters must accelerate deep, sustained cuts to fossil fuel pollution, close the gap between pledges and implementation, and expand climate finance to match the scale of need. For countries like Ghana, which are working to decarbonize and grow at the same time, global follow-through is not a matter of fairness alone—it is a prerequisite for a livable future.

He concluded by calling for pragmatic cooperation: ramping up renewables and energy efficiency, protecting ecosystems, investing in adaptation, and approaching speculative technologies like SRM with caution, transparency, and strong governance. The choices made over the next few years, he warned, will resonate for generations—and determine whether countries on the front lines can keep pace with a rapidly changing climate.