11 / 27
conferenceseries LLC Ltd
Notes:
Page 47
Volume 9
Climate Change Summit 2018
Journal of Earth Science & Climate Change | ISSN : 2157-7617
November 19-20, 2018 Paris, France
6
th
Global summit on
Climate Change
Migrants’ remittances and financing adaptation to climate change at the local level: Experiences from Ghana
Albert Ahenkan, Musah J
and
Bawole J
University of Ghana, Ghana
T
he much-trumpeted Green Climate Fund and several other official financial mechanisms for financing adaptation to climate
change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have fallen short in meeting adaptation needs. Many poorer
people are still grappling with the scourge of climate change impacts. Consequently, there has been a dominant research focus on
climate change financing emanating from official development assistance (ODA), adaptation fund, public expenditure and private
sector support. However, there has been little attempt to examine how migrants’ remittances can close adaptation financing gaps
at the local level, ostensibly creating a large research gap. This paper aims to argue that migrants’ remittances provide a unique
complementary opportunity for financing adaptation and have a wider impact on those who are extremely vulnerable to climate
change. The paper is aligned to the qualitative research approach. Both secondary and primary data acquired through interviews and
focus group discussions were used for the study. Multiple sampling methods were also used to select the respondents. The findings
show that remittances are used to finance both incremental costs of households’ infrastructure and consumption needs, as well as
additional investment needs to be occasioned by ongoing or expected changes in climate. In the wake of dwindling government/
public revenue, ODA and poor commitment of Annex II countries to fulfill their financial obligations, the study makes the following
recommendations: Firstly, the financial infrastructure underpinning money transfers in both sending and recipient countries should
be improved to make transfers attractive. Secondly, significant steps should be taken to reduce the fees on remittance services,
especially for the small transfers typically made by poor migrants. Finally, adequate climatic information should be made available
to local people to ensure that remittances are applied to the right adaptation option to avoid maladaptation.
J Earth Sci Clim Change 2018, Volume:9
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C5-052