Fair Finance School Ghana calls for human rights-based approach to climate finance

“My call to action is that every activist runs their own fair finance school in their own context using their own case studies with their own communities in order to really own the methodology and to make sure that fair finance is not something that is imposed on us but something that we create for ourselves.”

These inspiring words were spoken by Courtney Morgan, Senior Campaigner with the African Climate Reality Project, a member of Fair Finance Coalition Southern Africa, on the occasion of the Fair Finance School Ghana.

The two-day event aimed to equip young climate leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the operations of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and their crucial role in financing developmental projects. Gathering grassroots activists, academics, and civil society organizations (CSOs), including members of Fair Finance Ghana, participants were also equipped with skills to advocate for fair financing, ensuring that financing conditions are just and beneficial.

Acknowledging the continent of Africa’s disproportionate suffering from climate impacts despite its minimal contribution to the crisis, Ms Morgan also called for increased climate finance support from the global north, emphasizing that African communities are inherently resilient and capable of finding context-specific solutions.

During the event the significance of youth engagement in climate action was highlighted, particularly in Africa, where the young population is both innovative and energetic. Empowering young people to understand why the financing is coming, how it will be disbursed, the motivation behind it and how to engage with financial institutions allows for these groups to understand and engage with climate finance on their terms.

The first Fair Finance School was hosted by Fair Finance Coalition Southern Africa in 2023, and such was its success that this second edition in Ghana will be followed by more schools in Senegal and Nigeria.

To learn more about the event, watch this great video.