President of the Conference,
Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ghana is privileged and proud to host this United Nations Conference on Climate Change. Indeed, the nation is singularly honoured that the conference is dubbed “Accra Climate Change Talks 2008.” We are grateful to the Government of Norway for the generous support for its hosting.

I take this opportunity to welcome all our guests to our country. In particular, I wish to recognise the following:

•    The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
•    The Kyoto Protocol Group,
•    The Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Co-operative Action and
•    The Ad Hoc Working Group on further commitment for Annex I parties under the Kyoto Protocol.

Mr President, the latest UN Human Development Report calls climate change the “defining development issue of our generation.” The scientific and developmental case for serious action is compelling. It is no longer a matter for speculation, the entire human race is under threat no matter its geographical location.

We are encouraged by the Bali Action Plan which provides a road map towards a new global agreement on climate change. Adaptation, Financing and Technology Transfer are key concerns, particularly for Africa.

One approach to addressing concerns raised is a call for an international deal or “compact,” in which developing countries commit to plans for climate resilient development, focusing on the most vulnerable. In return, the international community should commit to a sustained long term funding and support in terms of technology transfer and capacity building. This is what is meant by “common but differentiated responsibility for adaptation.” It should underpin all efforts to translate “measurable, reportable and verifiable” actions into practice on both adaptation and mitigation.

High level engagement in the consultations makes a difference. It ensures commitment at the highest level. Representing the Presidency of the African Union last year, I was privileged to be at the UN Secretary-General’s Special Event on Climate Change.  I was also at the launch of the Africa-European Union Strategy in Lisbon and at the G8 Summits in Germany and Japan.

As I leave office as President of Ghana I urge my colleagues on the continent to stay committed to the cause and step up their efforts.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Bali has advanced action on the agenda for climate change in significant ways:

•    The Adaptation Fund has been launch with Ghana represented on its inaugural Board.
•    A new momentum has been generated on technology development and transfer and scaling up related investment.
•    Action has been initiated on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, a key issue for many African countries, particularly in the Congo Basin.

Initial estimates of costs of adaptation differ enormously, but they run into tens of billions of dollars per year. There is need for solid evidence to inform our national responses and to determine international financing needs and mechanisms. Accordingly, Ghana has agreed to participate in a multi-country study of the Economies of Adaptation to Climate Change.

Additional to general commitment to development financing projected to 2015, developing countries need adequate and predictable current finance from the international community, to be allocated on the basis of need, taking into account various levels of poverty and vulnerability.

Funding also needs to be governed and delivered in a way that builds climate resilience into development and allows governments to lead the development processes.

Mr President, this, indeed, will be Ghana’s position on development co-operation, which will be among the topics to be discussed next week in Accra at the International High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness from Ghana, we will urge:

•    Vesting power at the national level even as local understanding and vision are enabled to fit into the global perception
•    Support to be provided in a programmatic way to beef up national plans using national systems and
•    Ensuring support is coherent and co-ordinated.

At the national level, Ghana is making progress on climate change response, building on research and networks over years of effort. The debate on climate change in Ghana is now being widened.

Our Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is committed to working on this agenda with the Environment Protection Agency, which is the lead national institution on the issue of climate change. A new sector budget support programme will enable partners to assist with this process in Ghana.

Excellencies, Negotiators, Ladies and Gentlemen, climate change negotiations need to take account of many realities and pressures. This year, countries around the globe have witnessed a crisis in energy and food security and their attendant price hikes. Ghana was not spared.

Ghana also experienced a rolling black-out last year due to low water levels in the Akosombo Dam, which supplies most of the electricity in the country. Even low carbon hydropower needs to be adapted against climate change. In one year, Ghana witnessed both serous drought and flooding.

There is a real need for strengthening the capacity of countries. Particularly those in Africa, in coping with such climate shocks. This also means that people should be equipped with the necessary information, the skills and the technology to respond.

Mr President, the clock is ticking. We need more than rhetoric to make progress in the next twelve to eighteen months, as we come to Copenhagen in December 2009. This is where all issues of climate change should be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as ambassadors for climate change, you should make your best efforts at this meeting. Millions of people across the world, who are now suffering from climate-rated problems will not forgive us if we miss this opportunity to make a difference, nor will our children. Perhaps the most critical factor in tacking the phenomenon is time.

In closing, I welcome you once again to Ghana and to the Accra Climate Change Talks and wish you well in your deliberations.

Thank you and may God bless us all.