Channel more funds to climate adaptation - Danish minister tells Ghana, developing countries

The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, Dan Jorgensen, has urged Ghana and other developing countries, particularly in Africa, to commit more climate financing into adaptation interventions.

Mr Jorgensen said investment projects that promoted the planting of trees, preservation of greeneries, protection of water bodies and the natural environment would help to mitigate the negative impacts of the global climate crisis on developing countries.

"Adaptation needs to be prioritised because it also means that climate change is already here now and is already hitting a country like Ghana hard with changing weather patterns, unpredictable rainfall and all that.

The preservation of water is key; and also resilient food systems, "he said. 

While underscoring the need for developed countries to contribute to the establishment of the loss and damage fund, as a matter of urgency, he said the more sustainable approach was for developing countries to explore investment opportunities for projects that would help them to live with the crisis.

"Loss and damage occur after a climate-related disaster or catastrophe has hit a country; but adaptation means making sure that you are prepared for when things happen.

 It is very important that we allocate more funding for adaptation," he stressed.

Denmark-Ghana cooperation

Mr Jorgensen, who was on a two-day visit to Ghana, made the call at an event on November 18 at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to unveil a mural depicting the strategic sector cooperation (SSC) between the city of Aarhus in Denmark and Tema.

He was joined by the Metropolitan Chief Executives (MCE) of Tema, Yohane Armah Ashitey, and the Danish Ambassador, Tom Nørring, to unveil the mural to symbolise the enduring partnership between the two countries.

The first phase of the SSC between Aarhus and TMA, which started in 2019, was focused on four thematic areas — urban water management, climate adaptation, capacity building, institutional collaboration and partnership.

Under the water component, the cooperation was targeted at tackling waste water management and reducing non-revenue water.

One of the key outcomes of the phase one of the SSC was capacity building where officials of the TMA were trained under the DFC programme in Denmark.

There was also the hands-on bit where Aarhus technical experts came to work on the field with technocrats at the TMA to impart expertise to the local team.

Following the success of the first phase of the cooperation, the two cities signed the second phase of the SCC in October, this year, aimed at deploying innovative technologies to reduce water losses and improve sanitation.
 

Sustained cooperation

After visiting some of the waste water treatment projects, Mr Jorgensen said he was impressed with the work that had been done so far, especially so when those interventions would help to tackle the negative impact of climate change.

He said Denmark remained committed to explore more funding opportunities to strengthen the cooperation with TMA.

The Danish minister said while he was excited that a lot of progress had been made at TMA, with people getting clean water every day because of the project, it was also clear that there were still a lot of challenges.

"We from the Danish side will do what we can.

We are looking at the possibility of helping them in finding more resources in the future because there is really a lot to do.

Water needs to be cleaned, the efficiency of treating the water needs to be better," he said.

 Impactful cooperation

Mr Ashitey said the TMA would work closely with its Danish counterpart to ensure that the SSC achieved the desired outcomes of transforming the lives of people.  

He said the city of Tema had witnessed "massive improvements and reforms" since the partnership with the Danish Ministry through SSC Project.

"As we unveil this mural today, we are not merely celebrating a work of art; we are commemorating the strength of our partnership, a partnership that has been instrumental in urban water improvement and waste water treatment, capacity building of staff through the Danida Fellowship Centre courses and a cordial diplomatic relationship between the city of Tema and the City of Aarhus," he said.