President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged the Global South community to capitalise on the opportunities available along the Climate Prosperity Plans value chain to boost their economy.
He emphasised that the green transition presented huge opportunities, with a focus on nurturing a future in which prosperity and sustainability coexist.
According to him, the Plans’ objectives “define the lifelines of our nations, designed to channel investments towards sustainable socio-economic development and prosperity.”
President Nana Akufo-Addo was speaking at the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Leaders’ Investment Roundtable discussion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
The agenda for WEF 2024 is structured around four key themes.
They encompass achieving security and cooperation in a fractured world, creating growth and jobs for a new era, artificial intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society, and a long-term strategy for climate, nature, and energy.
Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs) constitute comprehensive strategies designed to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, enhance climate resilience and create new economic opportunities for national prosperity.
The Plans involve collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society organisations to develop and implement climate-smart investments and
policies that create jobs and improve quality of life for people while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that the necessity of the CPP-centred climate action emanated from “the urgency to safeguard the 1.5-degree limit set by the Paris Agreement, which is not merely an environmental imperative but also an economic necessity for our countries.”
“Overstepping this threshold would exacerbate the fiscal challenges we face, hinder access to capital, and escalate the costs of adaptation, thus severely undermining our pursuit of prosperity and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
The President elaborated that “the transformation of the CVF into an independent intergovernmental organisation in December 2023 stands as an important step towards fostering South-South cooperation.”.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is composed of 68 developing countries most threatened by the global climate emergency, representing 1.74 billion people and US$3.8 trillion in Gross Domestic Product.