The Government is not footing the travel bills of the 350 delegates attending the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt.

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie told Omanhen Yaw Adu Boakye on Sompa Tv on Tuesday, November 9, 2022 that the majority of the delegation, consisting of state and non-state actors, was funded by development partners.

“It is the responsibility of MESTI to coordinate and register persons attending the annual meeting. This does not mean the government is sponsoring all of these delegates. Delegates traveling on government tickets are not many,” they are 4, he said.

“Their funding is sourced from different agencies, including Global Environment Facility- UNFCCC, World Bank, Climate Vulnerability Forum, UNDP and UNICEF. These agencies also sponsor some government of Ghana officials to participate in the conference,” He said.

COP27 is the meeting of countries to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals under the Paris Agreement and the Convention.

Building on the outcomes and momentum of COP 26 in Glasgow last year, the nations are expected to demonstrate at COP 27 that they are in a new era of implementation by turning their commitments under the Paris Agreement into action.

Responding to the question of the high number of delegates, he said that for inadequate funding, Ghana required “many people to participate in the many technical negotiations at the annual conference”.

“The more people attend the conference the better it is for Ghana because they will learn and understand the issues. They will then support the implementation of the climate plans.

“We need a mass movement I.e the CSO, s chiefs, and the ordinary Ghanaian on the streets as I said before my trip to Egypt, at the time I was leaving Ghana, we had about 300 people registered as attendees but only 50 people are here which is a disgrace to us, he told the host.

He told Sompa tv a German company based in Ghana called TIZ sponsored his ministry and E-waste company to Egypt.

He said we are in a hard time wasting the little resources available to fund a huge number.

The minister is expected to lead the delegation from Ghana in the absence of the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa.

The conference is from 6th to 8th November 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Source//Sompa Tv//Eric Murphy Asare