The Young Climate Innovators Programme has been launched in Accra.

The programme is geared towards equipping young people in tertiary institutions with the training and resources needed to implement solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping communities adapt to the effects of climate change.

The event came off at the University of Ghana on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

It was chaired by the former Dean of UG's School of Information and Communications Studies, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo.

She stressed the importance of young people in driving the agenda of climate change in Ghana.

According to her, the government has done little more than pay lip service to the issue, leaving the youth with no choice but to engage in activism to mitigate the effects of global warming.

Speaking on the sideline, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo urged the youth to raise their voices and hold accountable those who have made promises to protect the climate.

"I think that there's enough awareness that has been created so we can't pretend we don't know the magnitude of the problem, but the action is what is missing, and that's why I think that a program like this can harness a lot of young energies, and... have young people drive it. You know, when young people decide that it has to be changed, it will be changed."

"That's why I think it's important for young people to say 'enough is enough, it's our future'. We will be gone, but they you're here to live with the consequences of what your fathers and your grandfathers did. And then young people have been left to carry the ban. And so I think, it's good to get them involved very early, and get them to raise their voices and hold people to the fire to stay true to the promises," she explained.

Vice Chair of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, was hopeful that YCLIP will unearth innovations that will catapult Ghana into global conversation in the creation of climate-smart solutions.

"We know that climate change is a global challenge, but it's also a local challenge because we feel the impact locally. So we thought that the young people, the youth are very good with innovations, and it's an opportunity also for us to tap into their innovation and provide solutions for climate change, so we're engaging them.

"First, teach them what the basics are in terms of what climate change science is. They should understand the causes and the impact and also advocacy. So we will guide them for the advocacy of the issues of climate change, but more importantly, we are engaging them for the innovative solution that we expect from the youth," she told Myjoyonline's Kenneth Awotwe Darko.

There was also a presentation on the YCLIP by the Executive Director at the Centre for Climate and Sustainability Empowerment (CCSE), Kassim Hussein.

In Mr Hussein's presentation, he said the programme will be implemented in two phases.

In the first phase, 200 students from the University of Ghana with diverse backgrounds have been selected to undergo one month of intensive training on climate literacy.

With the support of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn) platform, they would be trained on the science of climate change, climate change communication, advocacy, and activism, Green Economy, the UNFCCC Processes, etc.

Some 25 students out of the 200 students would be selected to undergo the second phase of the programme as the YCLIP Innovators.

The second phase of the programme would involve research work, entrepreneurship boot camp, community engagement and innovation development in five thematic areas: Circular Economy, Biodiversity Conservation, Renewable Energy, Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) and Climate Smart Agriculture.

The Director of the Center for Climate and Sustainability Studies at the University of Ghana, Prof. Kwadwo Owusu and the Country Lead for the Youth Climate Council, Richard Martey also took their turns to make contributions on the podium.

The event was hosted by the CCSE in collaboration with the HBCU Green Fund and the Omega Institute with the support of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and their UN CC Learn platform.

It was under the theme ‘Igniting Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.