CLIMATE CHANGE HAMPERS DEV IN AFRICA — CJ (PAGE 17, OCT 24)

THE Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, has said climate change has contributed greatly to the high poverty levels in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mrs Justice Wood said this in a speech read on her behalf at the Stand Up and Take Action (SUTA) games in Tema held as part of activities marking the Global Day Against Poverty.
The celebration was on the theme, “We can’t wait; Stand up, take action, End Climate Change and Poverty Now”.
She indicated that climate change was one of the most serious threats facing humanity, adding that it would affect the lives of children and future generations if it was not addressed properly.
She said human activities, such as carbon emissions and pollution of rivers and water bodies, had contributed massively to the depletion of the ozone layer, which had in turn contributed to the climate change being experienced across Africa today, and called on all to join hands towards saving the environment.
She said women had a major role to play in the restoration of the environment, as they were the leading patrons of domestic products and services.
Mrs Justice Wood expressed regret that women, who were the torch-bearers of the crusade to save the environment, were rather the main architects of environmental pollution and called on all to adopt safe environmental practices by thinking through their actions and tackling issues on climate change.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Abibiman Foundation, organisers of the programme, Mr Kwabena Okai Ofosuhene, indicated that the annual games organised for students from basic schools within the Tema metropolis formed part of the “Children and youth against climate change and poverty” concept developed by the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) aimed at promoting sports development, peace and togetherness among students.
He noted that the games provided an opportunity for citizens to show solidarity with millions of poor people across the country by demanding from the government an improvement in governance practices and ensuring accountability and transparency in engagements.
More than 500 pupils from eight zones in selected basic schools within the Tema metropolis joined the anti-poverty campaign and called on world leaders to assist in bringing relief to persons locked up in the state of deprivation.