Accra, Nov. 5, - The Prince of
Wales, Prince Charles on Monday urged Ghana to leverage its active role in the
Commonwealth and its influence in Africa to lead the fight to mitigate the
effect of the climate change phenomenon.
Noting the frightening statistics
on the climate change occurrence, he said if viable actions were not taken to
address the issue, which had impacted negatively on many Commonwealth
countries, it would place an economic burden on and a threat to future
generations.
Prince Charles made the call when
he delivered a public lecture on the theme: “The Commonwealth- Towards a Common
Future”, at the Accra International Conference Centre, as part of activities
marking his four-day visit to Ghana.
He said it was profoundly
worrying that the effects of climate change had changed the demographics and
economic fortunes of many countries, leading to food insecurity and mass
migration of millions of people.
Prince Charles thought that
though numerous instances of the impact of climate abound, such as rising
oceans, hurricanes, heat waves, floods and cyclones, the Commonwealth of
Nations could still join hands and share best practices to arrest the
situation.
“There is, it seems to me,
tremendous potential for the Commonwealth to share best practice and coordinate
its response to these kind of disasters” Prince Charles said.
The event was attended by
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings,
John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama, and a host of dignitaries and
people from various walks of life.
Prince Charles further urged
countries to work to tackle the underlying causes which meant, among other
things, establishing the proper price for carbon and addressing the polluter
pays principles, underscoring the need for recyclable products, and incentives
to address the issue of dumping of tons of plastic waste in the ocean.
“We must find a way to protect
and conserve our ocean and develop a truly sustainable approach to the blue
economy,” he said and indicated that the approach would protect the ecosystem
and stimulate economic growth.
The Prince of Wales noted that
with a population of some two billion people in the Commonwealth of Nations,
and with 60 percent of that number being youth under 30 years, there was need
to transform the challenges of the Commonwealth into opportunities for the
benefit of its citizens.
“We need to empower young people
through personal development programme, and skills training. These provide
tremendous opportunities for our people,” he said.
On the history between the United
Kingdom and Ghana, Prince Charles said though past of both nations were
intertwined, it was regrettable that there had been dark spots in the history
of the two countries including slave trade, ‘Britain can be proud that it later
led the way in the abolition of these shameful trade. We have a responsibility
to ensure that the abject horror of slavery is never forgotten.”
Ghana and the UK, he said, now
enjoyed dynamic partnership and “we share the same language, the same legal
system, same values and a strong trading relationship,” adding that, the UK
had, over the years, impacted positively on Ghana’s economy.
He was proud of the comportment
of Ghanaians in the UK, whom he noted had contributed immensely to the economy
of the UK, in the health, education, sports and security sectors of the
country.
GNA
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