Tema, July 22, GNA-Capacity building for women through community engagement on just energy transition has taken place in Tema. The community engagement was organised by the AbibiNsroma Foundation with other local and global partners. This follows the global call for a Just Energy Transition in fulfilment of the Paris Agreement to reduce global temperatures to 1.5 degrees through sustainable production and consumption in reducing carbon emissions. Addressing the participants, Mr Robert Amiteye, Convenor, AbibiNsroma, said Gender equality and equity issues remained a huge challenge for women as they tried to access the basic needs of energy for daily livelihood activities especially in rural communities. Women continue to suffer as a result of inaccessible energy needs and its high cost aside health related issues in the use of fossil fuels, he said. Participants thanked AbibiNsroma and partners for the knowledge shared at the workshop and called for regular information dissemination on climate change and renewable energy to empower the Ghanaian woman. They called for more stakeholder engagement to influence policy direction for just energy transition. If renewable energy can sustain our energy needs and make life comfortable for the most vulnerable, it would help ease cost of living and improve our health significantly, one of the participants said. Top ten (10) health concerns in the Tema Metropolis include respiratory infections, largely attributed to greenhouse gas emissions, according to the metro health directorate. The need for more nvestment in renewable energy technologies to make the world a better place was echoed by the women. Some women expressed concerns about job losses in-line with rapid just transition to be slowed to ensure job security especially for their husbands and children. Others in fish processing such as fish smoking also called for enhanced technology to replace the traditional burning of firewood in their business adding that, the smoke affect their eyes and health. AbibiNsroma and partners have asked policymakers not ignore this key question: the gender gaps in Just Energy Transition (JET). A just transition needs the full engagement and voices of women.
Source: Ghana News Agency