Accra, March 15, GNA - Ms. Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology on Monday said Government was developing environmental management and safety standards towards reducing greenhouse gas emission in the country's oil fields.

"As part of the efforts, government will ensure that appropriate policies and technologies such as carbon capture and storage to ensure hydrocarbon emission especially methane as well as other potential greenhouse gases that would be emitted during production are captured and stored".

Ms. Ayittey was speaking at the opening session of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Ministerial Meeting on Validation and Adaptation to Climate Change conference in Accra on Monday. The three-day conference, which is under the auspices of ECOWAS would review the strategy and action on climate change negotiation in the West African sub-region.

It brought together experts on climate change from the 15 ECOWAS member states to deliberate, share ideas and take important decisions on the threat posed by climate change on livelihood.

Ms. Ayittey said: "Government has mandated the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct strategic environmental impact assessment of the entire oil production to enable it take relevant steps to address the adverse effect on the economy, society, culture and the environment." She said as part of the country's efforts at implementing various conventions at both national and international levels, the nation had pursued efficient and effective measures especially, reducing electricity consumption at the household level by resorting to the use of compact florescent bulb lamps.

"Although the United Nations Forum on Climate Change Conference indicated that Ghana is a net remover of carbon dioxide, due to her forest cover, we are also working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector which is the single most important source of discharge in absolute as well as in trends terms", she added.

Ms. Ayittey noted that the poor and marginalised in society were often vulnerable to the impact of climate change such as water stress, water quality degradation, floods and drought.

"With the observed trends and projection increase in temperature with its concomitant decrease in rainfall in all ecological zones, we are certain that our water resources and for that matter our hydropower production and other water use in the country will be seriously affected". "Agriculture particularly in respect of the cocoa sub sector, cereals, root crops and fisheries would be affected translating into food insecurity, migration and malnutrition", she said. Climate Change is the alteration in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. 15 March 10