Ghana’s Minister-Designate for Environment, Science, and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has called for diplomatic efforts to ensure the country continues receiving climate funding despite the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

During his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Thursday, January 30, he expressed concerns about the impact of the US exit, warning that it could influence other countries to follow suit.

“It is a worrying issue that the US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement because it is the biggest funder. The lackadaisical attitude may allow many other countries to exit the agreement so we need to collaborate and use diplomacy to keep benefitting from climate funding,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of Ghana maintaining its commitment to climate goals to avoid losing donor support.

“Global emission is something that will not stop and so we should continue to honour our Nationally Determined Contribution because if we don’t, we may lose out on many of the donor support,” he added.

The Paris Agreement provides financial aid to developing nations for climate-related projects, and Ghana relies on this support for its environmental initiatives.

With global climate policies shifting, Murtala Muhammed believes Ghana must engage diplomatically to secure continued assistance.