ActionAid Ghana & Movement Groups Lead National Demand for a Just Transition and Climate Financing through a Riding Campaign.

About one hundred vibrant and energetic advocates turned up for the Riding for Just Transition, highlighting Climate challenges and messages across the principal street of Tamale. Among these numbers were representatives of Ecovista, Activista Ghana, Young Urban Women's Movement, Young Female Platform and the Smallholder women farmers. 

The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties is a global meeting held annually to amplify Climate Change trends while teasing out suitable actions. This year, ActionAid International, under its Climate Action solutions, launched the third Report titled “Climate Finance for a Just Transition: How the Finance Flows. Among the many recommendations in the report, ActionAid International is calling for Global South governments at COP30 to clearly recognise that private finance instruments such as loans, investments or carbon offsets are no substitute for real grant-based public finance, and cannot “fill the gap” when it comes to just transitions or urgently-needed climate action. This recommendation resonates with Ghana's climate complexities.

It is against this backdrop that the movement groups of AAG organised the Riding for Just Transition Campaign ahead of COP30. Dubbed “Cycling for a Just Transition: Pedal for a Safer Planet,” the riding campaign formed part of the global awareness creation and rooted campaign strategy of ActionAid Ghana. The campaign emphasised key findings from the 3rd Annual Climate Report, which highlighted the growing need for a just transition. It also aimed at amplifying the voices of young people, women, and communities at the frontline of the climate crisis. 

According to the 3rd Annual Climate Report of ActionAid International, less than 3% (2.8%) of global climate finance supports just transition approaches that prioritise workers, women, and communities. Ghana's Northern regions have been exposed to the complexities of Climate impacts and solutions over the past year. Despite forming the majority of Ghana's food basket, women who are into agroecology are being faced with disturbing climate issues and climate finance flows are clearly failing to address the need for a just transition in climate action, and are not sufficiently prioritising people’s participation, their rights or livelihoods. 

Hitting the streets of the Tamale Municipal, the movement groups highlighted this alarming gap and called on world leaders and policymakers at COP30 to:

• Increase grant-based climate finance — not loans — to support communities in the Global South facing climate impacts.
• Phase out fossil fuels and harmful industrial agriculture, investing instead in renewable energy and agroecology.
• Adopt inclusive, participatory, and gender-responsive climate policies that protect livelihoods and advance social justice.

At ActionAid Ghana, we identify that the lack of sufficient climate finance, rising climate scepticism and corporate greenwash are holding back the urgent and transformative action needed to avert runaway climate breakdown. Our call for an urgent need to reshape climate policies, climate financing, and climate proposal writing to make just transition a core approach to climate action is legitimate and timely. Climate policies and the finances flowing to support them must now learn key lessons and prioritise people-centred just transitions to address communities’ needs, unlock resistance, and unleash transformations.

Speaking at the campaign, John Nkaw, Country Director of ActionAid Ghana, stressed that "Ghana must lead the way by boosting its budget for renewable energy and supporting local climate solutions. We can’t achieve a fair transition if groups like women, youth, and smallholder farmers are left out of access to clean, affordable energy. Investing in renewable sources isn’t just about protecting our environment; it’s also about creating economic opportunities, generating jobs, and addressing inequality. We urge the government to focus on climate financing that supports communities, fosters innovation, and puts people at the heart of Ghana’s journey towards a safer, greener future."

The leader of organising movement committee, Madam Adama Fusieni, emphasised that the plaguing impacts of climate change in communities is very evident. She highlighted the Nyohini Dam, which used to be a reliable water source for the community and schools in the area municipality, but has, in recent times, dried up due to severe drought and climate impacts. The Nyohini dam was a vital part of our community's ecosystem, but it has emerged as a white elephant due to climate change and plastic mismanagement.

A member of Activista Ghana, Latif  Sogho, also lamented the state of the dam. He stated, "The state of the dam shows that residents must be responsible and join the campaign to promote a clean environment and hygiene in our community".

The “Cycling for a Just Transition” campaign forms part of ActionAid’s global mobilisation toward COP30 under the #JustTransitionRising movement, a collective call to ensure that the transition to a green economy is fair, inclusive, and transformative. 

Participants after the campaign proceeded to the office of the Regional Minister to submit a Climate petition for a just transition. “As the world moves toward COP30, Ghana must demonstrate bold leadership by increasing national budget allocations and financing for renewable energy and locally-led climate innovations.

"A just transition is not possible if our communities, especially women, youth, and smallholder farmers, remain locked out of clean, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions. Investing in renewables is not only an environmental necessity; it is an economic lifeline that can create jobs, reduce inequality, and build climate-resilient livelihoods. We are calling on the government to prioritise climate financing that empowers communities, accelerates innovation, and places people, not profit, at the centre of Ghana’s transition to a safer, greener future.” ~ Mad Beatrice Biije, Regional Programmes Manager. 

ActionAid Ghana will continue its unwavering advocacy for a Just Transition across the country. As committed participants of COP30, we remain dedicated to empowering our movement groups to demand climate accountability, fair financing, and people-centred solutions. We will not relent in amplifying community voices and pushing for a transition that protects livelihoods, promotes renewable energy, and ensures that no one is left behind in Ghana’s climate agenda.

Written by Jacqueline Pardikie Parditey.