Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has issued a passionate call to West African leaders, demanding unified action and targeted community investments to tackle the escalating climate crisis across the sub-region.
Addressing delegates in Accra at the joint opening of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Second Extraordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar of 2026, the Vice President warned that environmental hazards are directly feeding displacement and regional insecurity.
The high-level gathering convened under the theme “Climate Change as a Driver of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Growing Insecurity in the ECOWAS Region.”
Addressing the parliamentary gathering, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang highlighted how severe weather disruptions are upending lives, displacing families, and weakening economic security throughout West Africa. She reminded regional leaders that environmental threats do not respect national boundaries, and therefore, national responses must be equally unified.
“Across West Africa, the effects of climate change are increasingly evident in disrupted livelihoods, displacement, and growing insecurity. These challenges do not respect national borders, and our response should not either,” she stressed.
She underscored the urgent need for enhanced cross-border cooperation and direct financial investment into vulnerable communities to build resilience against climate-induced shocks. According to her, safeguarding local livelihoods and fortifying regional food systems are not just basic economic objectives, but indispensable anchors for regional peace and security.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also called on the ECOWAS Parliament to spearhead practical policies that bring tangible benefits to ordinary citizens, particularly regarding the free movement of people, cross-border trade, and regional employment opportunities.
Reaffirming Ghana’s historic commitment to West African unity, the Vice President linked the nation’s ongoing diplomacy to the Pan-African legacy of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, noting that successive administrations have consistently championed a fully integrated, peaceful, and prosperous sub-region.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
