The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and co-Chair of the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), Samuel Abu Jinapor, has reaffirmed Ghana’s dedication to taking the lead in nature-based climate action.
He emphasized that the global climate crisis necessitates collaborative efforts from all nations, and Ghana stands ready to collaborate with countries worldwide to advance nature-based climate initiatives.
This commitment was reiterated during the launch of the FCLP working group focused on Strengthening Supply and Demand of High-Integrity Forest Carbon Credits, held on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Africa Climate Summit is part of a series of regional climate summits leading up to the twenty-eighth Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
During the launch event, attended by Secretary John Kerry, the United States Presidential Envoy on Climate and Co-Chair of the FCLP, Minister Jinapor stressed the timeliness of the Africa Climate Summit and its urgency in rallying stakeholders to address the climate crisis.
He highlighted the critical role of forests, which contribute one-third of global climate solutions, in achieving the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Minister Jinapor emphasized the FCLP’s commitment to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030, aligning with the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. He announced the formation of a working group, co-led by Ghana, Gabon, Guyana, and the United Kingdom, tasked with addressing issues related to High-Integrity Forest Carbon Credit Supply and Demand.
This working group is expected to unveil a roadmap and strategy for strengthening and expanding forest carbon credits by COP28 and COP30. It will also focus on implementing mid-term actions to bolster high-integrity forest carbon finance and announce forest carbon results-based finance transactions. Ghana intends to play a leading role in this working group and within the broader FCLP to accelerate nature-based climate action.
Minister Jinapor called upon all nations and stakeholders to join forces with Ghana in ushering in a new era of sustainable forest management and climate resilience, thereby contributing to global climate action.