The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) will now have a permanent headquarters in Ghana. The secretariat, which is expected to do more of the day-to-day work, is located in Accra and housed in the Africa Trade House, However, leadership or chair position rotates among member countries every two and half years.
The leadership position (Presidency or Chair) will still rotate among member countries every two and half years. Ghana currently holds this position until June 2024. Bardados takes over the leadership of the CVF from Ghana.
In his state of the Nation Address on February 27, 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated ‘‘the country had succeeded in having the secretariat of the Climate Vulnerability Forum, an inter-governmental forum of sixty-eight (68) of the most climate vulnerable countries, representing some 1.4 billion people, located in Africa, here in Accra’’.
Former Maldives Prime Minister and now first Secretary-General of Climate Vulnerable Forum notes having a permanent location allows for more efficient day-to-day operations and better coordination among member countries.
His Excellency Mohamed Nasheed has many years many of experience in international climate change discussions such as the establishment of Loss and Damage Fund and Climate Prosperity Plans.
Another institution under the CVF is the Vulnerable 20 Group, which will also be housed in the secretariat in Accra. This is for Finance Ministers of member countries.
The two entities are very instrumental in international issues in terms of climate change and climate financing.
‘‘Currently, we are hampered above all by the debt crisis. Our nations need urgent liquidity support or we will see more climate vulnerable countries in the kind of distress that has happened in Sri Lanka. You cannot focus on climate strategies when people do not have enough to eat, and the country is unstable. The CVF countries have 500 billion of debt coming due in the next few years. So instead of capital inflows we are seeing capital outflows, mostly to the high emitting parts of the world. As we often say in CVF, the fate of the most vulnerable will be the fate of the world’’, His Excellency, Mohamed Nasheed said.
CVF’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Eric Twum observes having the secretariat in Ghana strengthens the country’s role in addressing issues such as Debt SWAP for Nature. ‘‘Ghana’s CVF secretariat bolsters its role in Debt SWAP for Nature efforts”, says Dr. Eric Twum.
Background:
The Climate Vulnerable Forum is a global partnership of countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change.
The forum addresses the negative effects of climate change as a result of heightened socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
CVF was founded in 2009, with eleven (11) founding countries and 57 additional members making a total of sixty-eight governments.
By Eben Agyekum-Boateng, 3Business