On November 3, 2022, Pierre Laporte, the Country Director of the World Bank, stated that if immediate action is not taken to address climate shocks, approximately one million Ghanaians may become impoverished.

He said that by 2050, impoverished households' incomes might be cut by as much as 40%.

Read the full story originally published on November 3, 2022

As a result of climate shocks, at least one million more people may become impoverished, according to the World Bank's most recent Country Climate and Development Report for Ghana, unless quickly remedied.

By 2050, income for low-income households could potentially drop by as much as 40%, according to the report.

According to the report, policies and investments from the public and private sectors should be combined to create a development pathway that increases resilience to climate change and promotes the shift to low-carbon growth.

“Ghana’s economic and human development is vulnerable to climate change. On average, flooding affects around 45,000 Ghanaians every year, and half of Ghana’s coastline is vulnerable to erosion and flooding as a result of sea-level rise,” Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone stated in a Joy FM report.

According to the World Bank's assessment, Ghana must promptly address the growing threat of rising temperatures and heat stress, which can harm crop and labor productivity. Additionally, the increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns pose risks to buildings and infrastructure.

The report emphasizes the broader consequences of land degradation, water insecurity, and local air pollution on human capital and overall productivity.

Despite achieving significant development milestones over the past thirty years, Ghana's progress has decelerated, as highlighted by the World Bank. The report explicitly states that the West African nation has not effectively harnessed its natural resources to build the necessary infrastructure, human capital, and institutional capacity for sustainable growth.

“The report demonstrates that Ghana can simultaneously pursue its long-term development and climate goals,” Pierre Laporte added. “Ghana’s contribution to global greenhouse gases emissions is small, with emissions on a per capita basis at 24% of the global average. The country can take a more resilient development pathway, avoiding costly lock-ins, leapfrogging to cutting-edge technologies, and starting to mobilize climate finance.”

The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports identified six priority areas for a Climate Resilient and Low Carbon Development pathway that will foster a greener, resilient, and inclusive growth in the country.

Others include the new core diagnostic reports that explore the interlink between climate change and development. They help countries prioritize the most impactful actions that can foster a low-carbon transition and boost resilience while delivering on broader development goals.

CCDRs build on data and rigorous research and identify main pathways to reduce GHG emissions, their externalities and climate vulnerabilities, including the costs and challenges as well as benefits and opportunities from doing so.