Climate Change is real — Go REDD Plus

Millions of people marched in protest demanding urgent action on climate change in more than 2000 locations worldwide as the campaign for curbs on carbon emissions took centre stage last weekend.

The biggest protest was in New York City where Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General joined the march which numbered some 310,000 people. Similar marches took place in almost all major cities in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia and the South Pacific. 

Since 2009 when the Climate Change Mobilisation movement started, October 24 has been observed as the International Day of Action on Climate Change but the actions were brought forward by a month this year in order to coincide with the UN Summit, which is being attended by more than 120 Heads of State and Government, plus leading financiers and business leaders.

 Ban Ki-moon has called on these leaders to “bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience and mobilise political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015.”

The UN discussions and the marches were part of a concerted effort designed to bring international focus to the lack of attention paid by attending world leaders to the devastating effects of climate change. In the circumstances, the UN Summit was expected to lay the groundwork for a potential global agreement on emissions, next year in Paris.

In Ghana, there were no marches but a climate change related activity took place last week in Accra which is as important in its potential effect as any of the marches in other capitals. This was the launch of the REDD+ (REDD Plus) road show to sensitise Ghanaians to the alarming rate of deforestation in the country.

REDD+ is an international fund or credit-based mechanism that creates an incentive for developing countries to protect and better manage their forest resources as one of the pathways for addressing climate change.

The acronym REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of carbon stock. 

The campaign, launched last week Friday, is aimed at educating Ghanaians on the effects of Climate Change and how to address them because human activities leading to deforestation have a major impact on the environment and climate change. Speaking at the media launch of the campaign, the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Samuel Afari Dartey, said protecting the forest was very important to the existence of the human race. 

Mr Dartey explained that protecting and sustaining our forests has many benefits including environmental, health, as well as economic benefits. According to him, “the water shed protection activities” of the forest ensures that basic food crops, as well as cash crops grow or yield very well. “It is also scientifically proven that our health status level depends and relate very much to the kind of forest cover that we have in this country” he added.

The forestry boss is right. This is a matter of life and death for our planet and the life it supports. This is why the UN has urged governments to address the "increasingly clear" threats posed by a warming climate before some options are closed off for good. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that taking steps to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions blamed for rising temperatures could buy more time to adjust to a warmer world.

Activities lined up for the REDD+ Road show include visits to Community Resources Management Areas (CREMA); schools outreach; floats; radio and TV discussions, documentaries and publication of articles in the media. There will also be endorsement messages from REDD+ icons, ambassadors and local heroes on the need for sustainable management of Ghana’s forests and wildlife resources.

A “REDD EYE” campaign, targeting the Ghanaian youth will also be launched to create awareness of REDD+ amongst Ghana’s future leaders. The REDD+ Road show event for the year will be climaxed with a National REDD+ forum at the Accra International Conference Center on 4th November, 2014.

The Road show train will make four stops nationwide: Damango (from 29th September to 3rd October); Dormaa Ahenkro (6th – 10th October); Tarkwa (13th – 17th October); and Hohoe (20th – 24th October) with public attention being drawn to pressing environmental issues including indiscriminate harvesting of Rosewood, illegal mining and chainsaw activities, as well as rampant bushfires.

One challenge faced by climate change campaigners is the need to convince skeptics and ordinary people that climate change is not only real but that human activity is the primary cause.

In a 2012 book titled “A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change”, the author, Stephen Gardiner answers the most basic questions about climate change and produces the evidence that the phenomenon is real.

These are some of his haunting evidence and conclusions. The surface of the earth is getting warmer; the surface temperatures have risen by 0.8°C from pre-industrial levels. The gases produced by industrialisation and agriculture are known to have an insulating effect, and their concentration in the earth’s atmosphere has increased in line with rising temperatures, while natural causes of global warming have remained constant. The 2007 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report offers a range of projections within which its best estimates are for a temperature rise of somewhere between 1.8°C and 4°C over the course of the 21st century, depending on the level of greenhouse emissions. 

The critical question is this: Is there anything we can do about it? Answer: Potentially, yes. If we were to keep emissions to the low end of that spectrum, global warming might just be kept at 2°C or below, and its impacts minimised. 

The REDD+ campaign is part of the effort to minimise the effects of climate change. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, Forests have four major roles in climate change: “they currently contribute about one-sixth of global carbon emissions when cleared, overused or degraded; they react sensitively to a changing climate; when managed sustainably, they produce woodfuels as a benign alternative to fossil fuels; and finally, they have the potential to absorb about one-tenth of global carbon emissions projected for the first half of this century into their biomass, soils and products and store them - in principle in perpetuity”.

What can ordinary people do to help in the REDD+ campaign. Everyone can help by disseminating information, doing good environmental practices such as not felling trees indiscriminately but rather plant and nurture trees. 

Communities, schools, families and even workplaces can form REDD+ Support Groups to disseminate information and do sustainable environmental activities. Every government agency, as well as NGOs, the media, and faith organisations have specific roles to play in this REDD+ agenda for a greener earth. Nothing is more urgent than saving the planet.

gapenteng@outlook.com