The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has called for an investigation into the number of delegates registered by the government for the Conference of Parties (COP28).
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change data, Ghana is among the top five countries with the largest delegation.
Ghana’s delegation in Dubai is 618 from last year’s delegation of 350.
The delegation consists of 95 persons on the official parties list and an additional 523 on the party overflow list.
This has raised several eyebrows across the country.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Monday, December 4, 2023, the former Minority Leader said this is a burden on the already strained public purse.
“Mr Speaker, with this economic distress, how can Ghana lead a delegation of 618 persons? Are we shouldering the economic gain and hardship of the Ghanaian? And Mr Speaker, I see a delegation of the president here at COP28… I am demanding that a committee looks at this,” he said.
COP28 is an annual conference held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It serves as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties to negotiate and agree to action on how to tackle climate change, limit emissions and halt global warming.
It is the world’s highest decision-making body on climate issues and one of the largest international meetings in the world.
The host of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) is the United Arab Emirates (UAE).