Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse (middle) flanked by officials of the Balme Library and students
THE VICE Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group 1, Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, has donated copies of newly published books by the IPCC on climate change to the Balme Library of the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, in Accra.
The donation is aimed at enhancing research opportunities for students as well as members of the public to help raise awareness on the severe impact of climate change.
The books donated include the main assessment report of the three working groups of the IPCC which cover climate change, its impact on the physical world, and measures to mitigate the phenomenon and its adverse effects.
Also included were special reports on how climate change affects the ocean; how land use affects the phenomenon, and also what global warming at a current temperature of 1.5 degrees means for Ghana and the African continent.
In her remarks at a brief donation ceremony on the university’s campus, Prof. Klutse, stated that having contributed significantly to the writing of the books, she deemed it necessary that the Balme Library gets copies of the books so students, researchers, policy makers etc. would have access to the information in the books and use them accordingly in their respective areas of work.
“It is important for everyone to know the importance of climate change – the ordinary person, knowing about climate change; the researchers knowing deeply about what they should do on issues of climate change and even the students on issues of climate change. There’s also information for policy makers,” she stated.
“We want to advocate for climate change and so I believe we are in the right direction,” she stressed.
On behalf of the Library, Senior Assistant Librarian and Head of Acquisitions, Emelia A.O. Agyei expressed her gratitude to Prof. Klutse for the kind gesture.
“This is not just a book donation”, she iterated. “It’s an insightful addition to the collection of books in the library.We will process them and make them available for use by all. Although Ghana does not have a national library, we will position ourselves very well to ensure that policy makers are able to assess the books to help them in fashioning out sustainable policies to address climate change.”
Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse is a lecturer at UG and the Head of Physics Department at the university. She is also the only Ghanaian woman serving on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio