President Nana Akufo-Addo has been selected to chair the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet, on Wednesday.

He takes over as Chair, following the end of Bangladesh’s two-year term as Chair of the Forum, which serves as a South-South cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change.

The President, in his remarks, congratulated Bangladesh, and, in particular, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for the leadership that has been demonstrated these past two years on the vexed issue of global climate.

“Your successes in leading the Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 are a credit to Bangladesh and represent a service done to all vulnerable nations. Ghana is, indeed, honoured to take up the mantle of Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, and will do all she can in defence of the world’s most climate threatened nations,” he said.

Describing Climate Change as “the biggest threat to the realisation of the SDGs” the President said it has become an issue of grave concern to leaders across the world, especially for those of us classified as vulnerable nations, as it has a considerable impact on the fundamentals required for our survival on earth.

“For the sake of our and succeeding generations, we have a solemn duty to take immediate, bold and concrete steps to protect the global climate from warming beyond unbearable limits,” he said.

The President continued, “It is for this reason that Ghana will follow in the footsteps of the CVF's previous presidents in being a voice for the voiceless.

"As Chair of the CVF, Ghana will pursue the call for major emitters to strengthen their 2030 mitigation targets in order to bring the 1.5-degree Celsius target, on which our survival depends, within reach.”

As Chair of the Forum, President Akufo-Addo assured that Ghana will make the increment of adaptation financing a major priority, as well as help to unlock the Loss and Damage Fund, which will provide compensation to vulnerable developing countries for the losses and damages that they face as a result of climate impacts.

“Excellencies, not only will we work to help make the CVF Global Parliamentary Group's Charter a reality, but we will also expand CVF membership, particularly in Africa. When Ghana takes over the presidency of the V20 Ministers of Finance of the CVF later this year.

"We will continue to champion all of the V20 Group’s key priorities on unlocking finance for climate action, reducing the financial protection gap, and working for an international financial system that is fit for purpose to fight the climate crisis,” he stressed.

With Bangladesh creating its own Climate Prosperity Plan, President Akufo-Addo assured that “we will take forward this important programme. We plan to take bold climate actions and make sense for our development as we seek to emerge prosperous.”

He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to “work expeditiously on our own ambitious Climate Prosperity Plan. We call on all partners in the global community to lend full support to this development, as well as the realization of our vulnerable nations' valiant efforts to develop prosperity plans”.