Statement on the signing of the Kyoto accord on global warming by Stephen Asamoah-Boateng member for Mfantseman west constituency
Source: parliament_of_ghana
Date: 2026

[ i s # STATEMENT.ON THE SIGNING OF THE KYOTO ACCORD ON GLOBAL WARMING | : | BY STEPHEN ASAMOAH-BQATENG ‘ MEMBER FOR MFANTSEMAI ON: EN y i Mr. Speaker, The Kyoto accord, which aims to curb the air pollution blamed for global warming, has come into force, midnight of 16 February 2005, seven years after it was agreed. Although some key countries did not sigh up to this treaty, the fact that it has come into effect is in itself welcome news, especially for Africa. The accord requires countries to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Some 141 countries, accounting for 55% of greenhouse gas emissions, have ratified the treaty, which pledges to cut these emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2008-12. Each country has been set its own individual targets according to its pollution levels. Fast growing developing countries such as China and India are outside the framework, a fact pointed out by US President George W Bush in 2001. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement welcoming the treaty but also called on non-signatories to rethink. "From now, we have to build a system in which more nations will work together under the common framework to stop glofial warming," he said. Ms Maathai, an ecologist and Kenya's deputy environment minister, said the Kyoto Protocal would require not just efforts from governments and businesses, but also a change in the way people lived, Mr. Speaker, the head of the UN Environment Programme, Klaus Toepfer, said Kyoto was only a first step and much hard work needed to be done to fight global warming and its possible effects on the world's climate. "Climate change is the spectre at the feast, capable of undermining our attempts to deliver a healthier, fairer and more resilient world,” he said. Recent projections on planet warming made terrifying reading, he said, painting a vision of a planet that is "spinning out of control." He said it would be Africa which bore the burden of the world's failure to act. Whilst it is éene‘rally éccepied th;l even for counmesfth‘fit“have slgnéd fip t{o Kyoto accord the goals could be difficult, we must all strive to hit our targets as individual countries. It is heart-warming to hear Mr Takashi Omura, of the Japanese environment ministry emphasized bthat "Japan will make all efforts to respect the rules of the Protocol." Supporters of the 141-nation pact say it is a tiny step to slow global warming by imposing legally binding caps on greenhouse gas emissions in 35 developed nations, mainly from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars. Climate experts fear projected temperature rises could disrupt farming,' raise sea levels by melting icecaps, cause more extreme weather like hurricanes or droughts, spread diseases and wipe out thousands of animal and plant species by 2100. Mr. Speaker, we in Ghana must add our voice to the call for other countries that have not signed up to this treaty to make all effort to sign so that we can, together, save our planet for generations yet to come. Mr. Speaker, coming home to Ghana we are not spared of the threat of global warming and it is important we sensitize our countrymen and women, especially vehicle owners and those in business — viz. mining industry, cement industry, etc. to be mindful of how waste is managed. The’harm that refrigerators, especially second-hand ones, play in the consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) deserves mentioning. This sector, according to EPA source consumes as much as 98% of the total ODS consumption in Ghana. it is heart warming, though, to note that the EPA is playing its role for the Government to meet its strategic objective of phasing out the use of ODS according to the ODS phase out schedule for Article 5 countries under the Protocol. It is important to remind government and the business community to check the importation of second-hand refrigerators into the country. Owners and importers of old vehicles must also play their part to reduce gas emissions into the environment. Whilst commending the current management of DVLA for the compliance of MCT regulations, | would also fika to call on them to liaise with the law n enfoqrceme‘nt agencies to intenéify'ifiis aspect of their work to check on the pollution from ! vehicles into the atmosphere. This is because ozone produced when sunlight reacts with pollutants emitted by vehicle exhausts is also a major cause of respiratory disease. Mr. Speaker, | am informed that our vulnerability assessment indicates that:: « Agriculture is very vulnerable to climate change (e.g. decrease of 7% in maize yield by 2020); + Coastal belt is currently experiencing an erosion at the rate of 8m/fyear; and « Water resource also has a high vulnerability. Mr. Speaker, afforestation, management of degraded land and Agro-forestry are some of the measures being taken by Ghana to increase greenhouse gas sinks. Whilst inventory of gas emissions taken between 1990 -1996 (latest record available) indicate that carbon dioxide — CO2 — accounts for the largest share of our greenhouse gas emissions by source, it is heartening to note that this is offset by carbon sinks in forested and afforested lands. However, methane emissions (largely due to agriculture and biomass for energy) although lower than CO2 emissions is about 2-3 times higher than CO2. This means that we must do more to minimize incidents of bush fires, deforestation and other unfriendly agricultural practices. We must come down hard on illegal chain-saw operators and their collaborators who are causing immense damage to our forest. Mr. Speaker in the coastal zone, where most of my constituents live, the situation is even serious. Apart from some few urban centres, the main economic activities are fishing and farming, with the people living on very low incomes. Mr. Speaker according to the EPA if the current rates of sea-level rise continue a totai of 1,110km2 of land area may be lost as a consequence of a 1m rise by 2100. Sea-level rise can also be expected to raise the soil moisture content of sandy and silty soils along the coastal zone. These soils when subjected to vibration will liquefy. The structures founded on these soils could thus be at risk of collapse during earthquakes. Qur water resources are suffering severely as runoff or discharges in our basins are very sensitive to changes in precipitation and temperature. From the socio-economic point of view, there may be secondary impacts on health, nutrition and energy-based industrial 3 activities, if proper adaptation options are not taken. It is estimated that by the year 2020 ¢ all our basins will be vulnerable - i.e. the country will face water management problems, | . ! Finally Mr. Speaker | would like to commend the 141 countries that have signed the Kyoto accord and use this opportunity to call on the other countries yet to sign-up to consider the plight of those of us in Africa and make all efforts to reach agreement on the treaty.