Story by Hannah Dadzie
As the world marks Zero Emissions Day, Aya-Green Initiative, an Environmental NGO, has encouraged individuals and organisations to minimise their carbon footprint by reducing emissions as close to zero as possible.
The organisation said it has become expedient for individuals to contribute their quota to zero emissions as human activities are creating environmental catastrophes. It believes the planet’s climate can be preserved to ensure a sustainable future for generations if individuals put a stop to these activities. This year’s commemoration is on the theme “Giving our planet a day off a year”.
Zero Emissions Day is an International Day of Action to demand a future without air pollution, which is contributing to global warming. Every year on September 21st, people around the world take part in activities to promote clean air and reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions.
As part of activities to mark Global Zero Emissions Day, Aya-Green Initiative, an Environmental NGO, in partnership with Parks and Gardens, A&C Mall, Jekora Ventures, a waste management professional and Sekoe Chocolates, distributed free fruits and medicinal plants to be planted to help achieve the global zero emission goal. The Chief Executive of the Aya-Green Initiative, Akosua Ason, said they are creating awareness across the country to promote activities that will help combat climate change.
“Aya-Green initiatives is an environmental NGO; we look out for environmental issues and then we actively participate in solutions. Our focus is on goal 13 that is taking action to combat climate change. Our daily activities contribute to emission, so because of what we stand for, we decided to have patterners like Parks and Gardens and ANC Mall to be able to support in our small way by giving out free fruits and medicinal plants for environmentally friendly individuals to go and plant to mark this special day,” Madam Ason said.
She said the organisation is also focused on ways to reduce waste, which is also a major contributory factor to climate change.
“One of the emissions is methane gas. Methane gas stays very long in the atmosphere, and it’s quite dangerous. One of the sources of methane gas is from our landfill sites. So, we have to really look into our waste management. So, from November to January next year, we are going to focus on that area, make sure we reduce waste so that it doesn’t end up in landfill sites that will generate this methane gas into the atmosphere,” the CEO indicated.
The Greater Accra Regional Director for the Department of Parks and Gardens, Bernice Kanyoke, urged Ghanaians to plant more trees to promote the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
“We are encouraging people to plant trees, as we know trees give out oxygen and they absorb carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas. We need to get people to understand what World Zero Emission is all about and what they can do to contribute to the cost. We should look towards a positive end. We might not get to zero but then we would make an impact and as we all know climate change is on the rise and we need to do something about it,” Madam Kanyoke said.
The Marketing Director at the A&C Mall, Richard Djanie, said his organisation will always support any action that will help mitigate climate change because they believe in a green environment and green initiatives.
“We believe in green innovation; we believe in supporting the community, so we decided to support Aya-Green Initiative and other partners for this year’s Global Zero Emissions Day. People within this vicinity had the opportunity to pick up plants, which is a good thing. We want the neighbourhood and Ghana to be greener, and we want to be much more environmentally friendly,” Mr Djanie noted.
Zero emissions are an ambitious yet crucial goal, but with collective efforts, they can still be achieved within a few years.
