GCA CEO discusses urgent need to increase finance for adaptation and loss and damage with President Nana Akufo-Addo
During an official visit, GCA CEO Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen met with President Nana Akufo-Addo to discuss supporting Ghana’s Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum in achieving its priorities of increasing funding for climate adaptation and loss and damage
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ccra, Ghana, 10th February 2023 – The CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, met President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana on 10th February during his visit to the West African country.
Prof. Verkooijen and President Akufo-Addo discussed supporting Ghana’s Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet, for which GCA is a managing partner. A key priority of Ghana’s Presidency is increasing adaptation financing and unlocking international loss and damage funding.
Prof. Verkooijen updated President Akufo-Addo on the progress of GCA’s flagship Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), an initiative led jointly with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to mobilize $25 billion by 2025 to scale up transformative actions to accelerate adaptation and to address the impacts of Covid-19 and climate change on the African continent.
Last year, Prof. Verkooijen traveled to Ghana to launch the “Ghana: Roadmap for Resilient Infrastructure in a Changing Climate.” The national assessment was developed by GCA, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the United Nations Office for Project Services, and the United Nations Environment Programme, under the leadership of Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Environment, as part of the AAAP. Building on this assessment, GCA has since completed a climate risk assessment, institutional mapping, gap analysis, and investment prioritization of climate adaptation investments for Accra, Ghana.
Through the Technical Assistance Program of the AAAP, GCA is also working to build capacity within Ghana for adaptation finance planning and decision-making; to support the accreditation of new and existing Direct Access Entities; and to develop and submit a paradigm-shifting portfolio of adaptation projects and programs to international climate funds.
During their meeting, President Akufo-Addo was updated on the Africa Adaptation Summit that will take place on 4th September 2023 to forge a leadership pathway for Africa to secure its resilient future while advancing key international partnerships for driving ambition in global climate action.
