Ghanaian Activist Pushes for Community Involvement in Climate Change Fight

A climate activist has been awarded a prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for leading a grassroots campaign to stop a new coal-fired power station being built in Ghana. Chibeze Ezekiel worked with local communities to highlight the damage the power station would have caused, and persuaded his government that renewable energy was the way forward. “We were in the community for about three or four days, engaging the people, the chiefs, the elders, the young people and the women groups. In fact, we were surprised to know that people in the community had concerns about the coal plant but they had no body to talk to,” he said. Mr Ezekiel begun social media campaigns to pressure the government and eventually the coal plant plan was shelved.

SOURCE: BUSINESS HUMAN RIGHTS | THE GUARDIAN