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Ghana marks International Day of Clean Air for Blue skies in Accra

There are very little investments in public transport, mass transit systems, and alternative ways of moving in the country, Clean Air Fund (CAF) Country Lead to Ghana, Desmond Appiah, has said.

“There must be policies in switching to electronic transport systems in the country to reduce the fossil in the air or, individuals must limit the times they use their vehicles as initiated in other countries,” he suggested.

“We must invest in sustainable ways to benefit individuals as well as reducing toxic chemicals, vehicles caused to the atmosphere,” he stated.

Mr Appiah was speaking during the commemoration of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies last Wednesday in Accra on the theme “The air we share.”

The day instituted by the United Nations (UN) for nations and stakeholders to explore interventions that would prioritise healthy air for the well-being of mankind as well as raise awareness and facilitate actions to improve air quality.

In the latest State of Global Air Quality Funding 2022 report, philanthropic initiative CAF pointed out that, between 2015 and 2021 governments gave less than one per cent of their aid budget to projects that tackled outdoor air pollution around the world.

Mr Appiah questioned that, as much as the country could boast of some programmes undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation(MESTI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and government, was there assurances of the initiatives still ongoing?

“Some of the initiatives is the led issues, liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) replacement programme, among others but the question is, are these initiatives still ongoing and can we still continue to enjoy its benefits,” he questioned?

He explained that, as much as expansions and construction of roads were needed in the country, mobility and the absence of negative impact to the air should be paramount.

“We have to look at how we can move goods, services and people without having negative impact to the airas we are experiencing now, because the bigger roads we build the more vehicles are likely to come in,” he said.

BY ANITA ANKRAH

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