Effects of climate change threaten 2020 middle income target

The country’s target of becoming a full-fledged middle income country by 2020, could seriously be threatened by effects of climate change, as it is already affecting economic output, livelihoods and long-term development prospects, Prof. Christopher Gordon, Director, Institute for Environment & Sanitation Studies at the University of Ghana, has said.

 

There is evidence of the impact of climate change on the national economy, with clear signs that the coastal zone, agriculture and water resources are all negatively affected, with consequent impacts on poverty, health and women’s livelihoods, he said.

Speaking at a symposium on the topic: ‘ICT, Climate Change and Agricultural Production’ at the 68 Annual New Year School and Conference in Accra, Prof. Gordon said the country’s own contribution to global climate change mitigation has been negligible, adding the country’s vulnerability lies in its reliance on sectors that are sensitive to climate change, such as agriculture, forestry and energy production.

“The question we have before us is: how can we turn the negatives of climate change into positives so that we can sustainably increase agricultural production using ICT, with for example, better acquisition of weather data, early warning systems for farmers and better marketing of produce that impacts the lives of the small holder farmers who make up the bulk of the agriculture sector in the country?” he said.

Prof. Gorden hinted that the country’s emissions of Green House Gases (GHG) have increased since 2004.

In the 2014, which is the official latest reporting year to UNFCCC, Ghana’s total GHG emissions, excluding the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Sectors, were estimated to be 16.51 MtCO₂e.  Carbon dioxide has increased by 82%, Nitrous oxide by 22% and Methanen by 16%.

He added that mean annual temperature has risen by 1.0 °C since 1960.  The number of 'hot' days per year has increased by 13.2 %, while the number of 'hot' nights per year has increased by 20 %. ‘Cold' days and nights per year have decreased by 3.3 and 5.1 % respectively.

In the period 2005 – 2010, the period between start and end of rains varied by as much as 30 % from year to year.

Mrs. Francisca Martey of the Ghana Meteorological Authority said that the historical data from the year 1961 to 2013 clearly shows a progressive rise in temperature and decrease in mean annual rainfall in all the six agro-ecological zones in the country.

She indicated that climate change is manifested in the country through rising temperatures, declining rainfall totals and increased variability.

The Meteorological agency, she hinted, has started the Agro meteorological bulletin to help farmers to monitor the rainfall activities around them so as to plan properly.