Ghanaian Government has called for stronger regional cooperation within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address the growing challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, population displacement and insecurity across West Africa.
Speaking at the opening of the Second 2026 Parliamentary Seminar and Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra, President John Dramani Mahama, said member states must develop coordinated responses that tackle both the immediate impacts and root causes of the crises.
Represented by the Vice-President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the President stressed that the interconnected nature of climate change, displacement and insecurity demands collective action, including stronger early-warning systems, better support for host communities and improved cross-border coordination.
“We need stronger early warnings, better support for host communities, more resilient livelihoods and better coordination across our borders, acting before local pressures become wider humanitarian crises,” she said.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang said climate change should no longer be viewed solely as an environmental issue but also as a development and security challenge.
She noted that insecurity, environmental stress and disrupted livelihoods in the Sahel increasingly trigger population movements that place additional pressure on communities and public systems in neighbouring coastal states.
She said Ghana was working with ECOWAS to strengthen regional early-warning mechanisms through improved data sharing, closer coordination and stronger links between national and regional response systems.
The Vice-President also called for greater efforts to mobilise climate finance and invest in resilient agriculture, water management, coastal protection and clean energy.
While ECOWAS already has frameworks on climate action, disaster-risk reduction, free movement and early warning, she said the focus should now be on full implementation and adequate resourcing.
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament said climate change was increasingly affecting forests, coastlines and livelihoods while contributing to population displacement across the region.
She urged member states to translate climate commitments into legislation, budget allocations and concrete action.
“Our role is to ensure that public policy and budgets devoted to climate resilience contain the humanitarian, economic, social, migratory and security dimensions of the challenge,” she said.
Citing recent coastal flooding in parts of West Africa, she described climate change, displacement and insecurity as interconnected challenges requiring practical solutions to protect vulnerable populations and reduce the risk of conflict.
The Ghanaian Parliament also urged ECOWAS member states to strengthen legislation on environmental governance, climate adaptation, disaster preparedness and natural-resource management.
It called for improved protection for displaced persons, refugees and host communities, while encouraging investment in opportunities for young people and women through climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and entrepreneurship.
Second Deputy Speaker Andrew Asiamah, representing the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, said no ECOWAS member state could address the challenges alone because rivers, ecosystems and environmental crimes transcend national borders. He warned that regional strategies would only succeed if backed by adequate funding.
Head of the Ghanaian Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, said legislators have a critical role to play in responding to climate change and insecurity because of their proximity to citizens.
He called for a coordinated and holistic regional approach to addressing the challenges.
The Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament will also consider the institution’s 2027 budget and activity programme.
The parliamentary seminar is centred on the impact of climate change, environmental degradation, population displacement and rising insecurity in the ECOWAS region.
