Canada will grant $20 million to four West African countries. The funding, which is to be deployed over four years, will be managed by the Canadian organisation NovaSphere, with the aim of strengthening the national capacities of the four countries in the implementation of climate measurement systems.
During his visit to Ghana on 24 May 2022, Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change announced $20 million over four years to help four West African countries – Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia and Togo – increase the capacity of their national climate measurement, reporting and verification systems.
According to Minister Steven Guilbeault, the establishment of MRV (Measuring, Reporting and Verification) systems is a crucial step in the development of strong and effective mitigation policies and actions by nations. These systems provide governments with transparent, accurate and comparable information on sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian government’s goal is to help recipient countries monitor their progress towards achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
Funding managed by NovaSphere
This Canadian climate change mitigation funding will be managed by NovaSphere. NovaSphere is a Canadian non-profit organisation whose mission is to engage stakeholders and create solutions to climate change and unsustainable development. NovaSphere has worked with more than 20 countries on innovative solutions for governance and measurement, reporting and verification systems.
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“NovaSphere is honoured to work with the Government of Canada to support the implementation of nationally determined contributions and climate governance with its partner countries. The organization will also help partner countries prioritize and attract sufficient funding to implement their respective nationally determined contributions, raise their ambition and create transformational change,” said Tom Baumann, NovaSphere’s President and CEO.
This funding is part of Canada’s contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2021, the Canadian government announced that it would double its commitment to international climate finance, bringing its contribution to $5.3 billion over five years.
Boris Ngounou
