Ghana Selected As Host-country For CVF /V20 Global Secretariat

Governments of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), representing 1.74 billion people and USD 3.8 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP), as well as the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers (V20), have selected Ghana to be the host country for the proposed independent global secretariat of the group which has now been declared as a fully-fledged treaty organization.

The Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers announced the nomination at their meeting on Thursday 21 September 2023, on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to amplify their call for climate prosperity and debt sustainability.

The CVF meeting was co-organized by the V20, represented by its Chair, Ghana Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, and sponsored by the Ghana Permanent Mission to the UN. Other ministers and ranking officials of the CVF and V20 members, key partner countries and philanthropies also joined the meeting at the UN headquarters.

Member governments at their meeting, adopted the CVF Leaders’ Declaration, which called for the Establishment of a fully independent secretariat for the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers (V20) among others.

Ghana’s commitment

In his address as the current chairman of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) ahead of the group’s declaration, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the group’s meeting was timely because it will enable the [CVF] to formalize the first step towards establishing the full independence of the CVF, as [CVF/V20] approve the Declaration which will demonstrate the intention and will of member nations; set out the mandate of the independent secretariat, and empower it to hire, manage financial resources and sign host country agreements on behalf of the member states.

“The decision to establish an independent secretariat for the CVF/V20 was announced in April at the conclusion of the 10th Ministerial Dialogue of the V20 during the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, with significant public support from our partners including the World Bank Group and the IMF.

“To see this through, Ghana commits 1 million US dollars to host the headquarters of the independent Secretariat for the first year as the various structures of the Secretariat get established to ensure that we build a strong institution that has robust governance structures and resources” President Akufo-Addo said.

Monumental development

In an interview after the CVF – V20 meeting, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, said the decision of the group to become an international organization is monumental and it excites him that the meeting and the choosing of Ghana as the host country for the secretariat happened on the birthday of Ghana’s former President Kwame Nkrumah.

“This group has now, through a declaration by President Akufo-Addo, agreed to be an international organization which will become the strongest collection of nations that will be advocating for a way in this climate crisis to get around it and ensure that there is fair treatment” Ken Ofori-Atta said.

“The agreement is that the hosting of the headquarters will be in Ghana which means that we [Ghana] is then going to lead the charge for climate issues. Climate issues are going to be with us for a long time so this is a very important achievement by the President” he added.

Other CVF/V20 proposals

The CVF/V20 in their declaration, also called for the following; Recognition of the CVF’s Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers (V20) as an official group in the International Monetary Fund.

“Tripling of multilateral development bank resources while enabling regional institutions and strategies to crowd in private sector participation to deliver USD 1 trillion per year, as well as the shifting of financial resources away from brown investments that undermine climate action, in order for the world to meet global ambition on climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable development.

“Addressing the rapidly growing debt risks and immediate liquidity needs of vulnerable countries, recognizing that the V20 Group alone has accumulated USD 686 billion in total external public debt, amounting to 27 percent of the Group’s GDP.

“Acceleration of a just energy transition that promotes equity and inclusion alongside job creation and infrastructure growth and increasing funding for adaptation and loss and damage from climate-related disasters and growing climate-fueled risks.

“Protection of economies from climate impacts through the V20 and G7 Global Shield against Climate Risks and other pre-arranged and trigger-based finance and insurance tools”.

About the CVF/V20

The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. The Forum serves as a South-South cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change.

Ghana is the current Chair of the CVF and its Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systematically vulnerable to climate change. Both the CVF and V20 are composed of 68 countries, representing some 1.74 billion people and USD 3.8 trillion in GDP.

Member states

The member states of the CVF/V20 in Africa & Middle East are; Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana (Chair), Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Palestine (as a UN non-member observer), Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen.

In Asia-Pacific, the member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

Latin America & Caribbean has Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haïti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, as member states of the CVF/V20.

From Wilberforce Asare