The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has called on African leaders and the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers to carefully analyse and seize the opportunities that will be created as the world works towards a fit-for-climate global financial system.

That financial system, he said, must be in tandem with the 2063 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Stimulus by 2030.

The Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, spoke on behalf of Mr Ofori-Atta at a collaborative side event, led by the V20 Group, at the just ended Africa Climate Summit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. 

The meeting, held on the theme, “A Fit-for-Climate Global Financial System? Now or Never”, brought together government representatives, advocacy groups, civil society, research organisations and the media. 

Climate

Ghana is the current Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the V20 Group of Finance Ministers. 

The V20 Group is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systematically vulnerable to climate change.

The summit is one of four regional climate summits to be held ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

Mr Ofori-Atta stated that Africa’s journey toward sustainability and climate prosperity was intimately linked with its collective ability to reshape the financial landscape.

The minister highlighted the need for multilateral development banks to facilitate access to financing for climate vulnerable nations, in addition to working together to triple all multilateral financing, particularly the tripling of available resources for the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).

The minister said leaders pushing the Climate Prosperity agenda must “seize this moment, harness our collective determination and foster a legacy that future generations will commend.”

“It is not enough to survive, we must thrive and our objective is to achieve prosperity, nothing less,” Mr Ofori-Atta stated.

The Finance Minister also reminded the V20 Group of their core mandate as the pioneers, pathfinders and champions of climate prosperity who continued to provide a voice for the over 1.74 billion climate vulnerable people worldwide, about half of whom reside in Africa.

The V20 membership stands at 58 countries.

Source: Graphiconline