Climate change: It’s unfair for Africa to abandon exploitation of natural resource, says Akufo-Addo
Akufo-Addo says poorer countries are disappointed by the failure of the wealthy nations to honour their commitment to provide US$100 billion to assist the fight against climate change
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that it will be unfair for the developed world to demand that Africa suspend the exploitation of its natural resources in the global quest to address climate change.
Addressing the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Scotland on Tuesday (2 November), President Akufo-Addo said: “The Almighty has blessed our lands with abundant natural resources and it would be wholly unfair for the world to demand that Africa abandon the exploitation of these same resources needed to finance its development and help us to cope better with the threat of climate change, at a time when many countries on the continent have only justice covering them.
“The development in industrialisation of the wealthy nations of today was also hinged on the exploitation of their natural resources. This development came at the expense of pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases.
“Even today, the Western world is responsible for 76% of carbon emissions,” he told guests at the summit.
Strike a balance
President Nana Akufo-Addo also told the summit that poorer countries are disappointed by the failure of wealthier nations to honour their commitment to provide US$100 billion to assist the fight against climate change.
“Ghana acknowledges the importance and effect of climate change and the urgent need to combat it, and we acknowledge equally the importance of developing our development.
“We believe that a balance must be struck and maintained between our social, economic and environmental imperatives.”
The president said, “We are naturally disappointed by the failure of the wealthy nations to honour their commitments of making available US$100 billion annually to the poorer countries to assist us in the fight against climate change, and by the unavailability of the technology transfer that will help us find sustainable ways of charting a path out of this existential crisis.”
Watch the president’s speech in full below:
Fred Dzakpata
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