A four-day C40 Cities Academy on climate finance and equity on waste management to empower city officials has opened in Accra.
The delegates from Accra, Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Lagos, Nairobi, and Muhanga and Bugesera Districts of Rwanda, as well as global cities at the forefront of decarbonising the waste sector, at the workshop which began on Monday, July 3 at the Accra City Hall, are expected to be equipped with useful concepts, approaches and tools to plan sustainable and equitable infrastructure projects in the waste sector based on the most appropriate financing structure and equity and inclusion approach.
The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, in a keynote address, said Accra, like other Sub-Saharan African cities, had a huge infrastructure deficit that must be addressed to ensure the successful implementation of climate actions.
She emphasised that cities in sub-Saharan Africa needed critical support from national governments, local and international partners to address the challenges of climate change through support for inclusive action in waste, transport, and energy, among others.
"This support needs to come from our national governments, local and international partners that will greatly complement our cities' own internal actions and efforts.
I believe in targeted climate finance to empower citizens to contribute towards public decision-making regarding climate change... There is a great need to invest in participatory governance to ensure broad public support for climate actions and that climate responses are inclusive and just," she said.
She pointed out that partnerships were critical in delivering low carbon transition adding that sustainable partnerships with funders, civil society, private sector, academia and youth could help accelerate the delivery of ambitious climate action with benefits that are equitably distributed.
Regional Director for Africa at C40, Hastings Chikoko in a statement described Accra as a regional leader in promoting sustainable waste systems and an active member of the C40 Sustainable Waste Systems Network and Food Systems Network.
He commended Accra for a well-documented ambitious work on tackling inequality and climate change through waste and expressed delight at progress through C40's continuous partnership.
A representative from GIZ, Mr Joseph Michael Sika Nartey, said the waste management problem in developing and emerging countries was engulfed with many challenges ranging from inadequate infrastructures and systems to dealing with the increasing and complex volumes of waste.
He noted that waste management had been a critical sector for the German Development Cooperation adding that GIZ Ghana was currently undertaking several programmes to support the government's effort to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.