The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has called for a probe into Ghana’s contingent at the Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai.
He said the over six hundred (600) participants the country presented for the conference is ridiculous.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Monday, December 4, 2023, the former Minority Leader bemoaned the impact of the number of attendees at COP28 on the state coffers.
“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.
Data released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change suggests that Ghana’s delegation to COP28 in Dubai has increased to 618 from the delegation of 350 last year.
The delegation consists of 95 persons on the official parties list and an additional 523 on the party overflow list.
These numbers are provisional and based on registered participants; the final figures, considering those collecting physical badges at the venue, will be released by the UNFCCC after the summit concludes.
COP 28 slated from November 30 to December 12 is set to be a historic event, with a record-breaking number of delegates in attendance. The provisional total for this year’s summit suggests that 97,372 individuals have registered to attend in person, almost twice the number that attended COP 27 in Egypt.
Additionally, for the first time in COP history, all delegates have been named in the participant lists, including “host country guests” from the UAE and 3,000 “virtual-only” participants.