Centre for CSR lauds President Mahama’s vision on climate change

The Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) West Africa is developing strategic plans aimed at rallying the private sector, international agencies and development partners to engage actively in Ghana-focused sustainability initiatives on climate change. 

Consequently, it said it looked forward to collaborating with the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability and that together “we can create meaningful change and drive Ghana towards a greener and more sustainable future".

It, therefore, welcomed inputs and propositions from stakeholders.

"We amplified our advocacy for sustainable leadership at the heights of the general elections last year; President John Mahama listened and he is leading the way.

We are currently developing strategic plans aimed at rallying the private sector, international aid agencies and development partner organisations to engage actively in Ghana-focused sustainability initiatives,” the centre said.

The Co-founder of the Centre for CSR, West Africa, John Kojo Williams, said that during a meeting with the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Seidu Issifu.

Appreciation

The CSR West Africa is a leading sub-regional sustainability organisation, developing, implementing and promoting sustainable policies, practices and activations for the private sector and government organisations.

At the meeting, Mr Williams expressed the centre’s appreciation to President Mahama for his initiative and vision. He congratulated the minister on his appointment and said the addition of Sustainability to President Mahama’s ministries “is a bold testament showing the government’s commitment to sustainable leadership”.

“For more than 14 years, we have been creating awareness around sustainability. We developed several platforms, projects and events that brought sustainability to the forefront of corporate and governmental purview.

We are delighted that President John Mahama has created a portfolio for Climate Change and Sustainability and appointed a visionary leader, Mr Issifu, to lead the government’s efforts in that regard,” he emphasised.

For his part, Mr Issifu expressed the government’s commitment to work with organisations including the centre.

"We thank President John Mahama for establishing the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability portfolio. He is a visionary leader.

“This office is open to all stakeholders; local and international. We welcome projects and partnerships that will foster the development of Ghana and the realisation of our sustainability goals.

We are dedicated and believe that we will do well with collaborations and partnerships from organisations like the Centre for CSR, West Africa,” he said.

Organisations

According to various sustainability-focused organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Global Compact, the world lost about 10 million hectares (roughly 24.7 million acres) of forests annually between 2015 and 2020, posing significant risks to biodiversity.

The impact of climate change is biting on low-income communities, as about 130 million people are estimated to fall into extreme poverty by 2030 owing to climate-related challenges. 
Sadly, progress with the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, is uneven across different regions, particularly in developing nations.