The EU experience shows that ambitious climate policies can go hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and improved health for people and better protection of the environment,” she said.

She said Climate Change was affecting Agriculture, Fisheries, Water Resource, Energy and Human Health. Ambassador Acconcia was speaking at the Climate Diplomacy Week 2018 Awards Ceremony with students from some selected schools in the Greater Accra Region, in collaboration with Environment360, in Accra.

The event was marked with an art competition, organized to aid the students better understand what Climate Change was and how to incorporate the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in their daily lives.

This was preceded by an art seminar for five private schools in Accra, for three weeks.

The participating schools were; American International School, Ghana International School, British International School, LAS Liberty School and Al Rayan International School. The Competition tasked the students to create art works, using 80 per cent recyclable materials and 20 percent non- recyclable materials.

The students were also tasked to create works related to this year’s theme for celebrating Climate Change; “Talanoa Dialogue; inclusive, participatory and transparent.”

Ms Acconcia, said conserving natural resources was a basic requirement for sustainable development and improving the quality of the human life, saying the protection of the environment for future generations and efforts to limit the impacts of climate change were of the utmost importance in the world.

“The earlier we act, the more resolute we are,” she said. “The lower the cost; the higher the benefits. The more we will invest in prevention, mitigation and adaptation policies; the less we will pay in future in terms of degradation of our planet and suffering of our population.

She noted that awareness campaigns were crucial to make citizens understand the challenges of climate change and the impact on environment. “The growing amount of waste produced in modern society has a huge impact on the environment. Many of the materials disposed off in the general waste bin can last in the environment anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years,” she said.

“The existence of this waste in the natural environment can cause significant impacts on plants, animals and pollution and by recycling we are helping to reduce biodiversity loss, save valuable space and reduce the amount of pests in our ecosystems”.

Ms. Cordie Aziz, the Executive Director for Environment360, emphasised on how important this competition was, as it empowered the students to better understand what climate change was, where they were now are now and where they wanted to be in future.

After a critical analysis of the Art works by the jury, the American International School emerged winners of competition, Ghana International School placed second, British International School placed third, LAS Liberty School placed fourth while Al Rayan International School placed fifth.

The art works of the top three schools will be displayed at the EU Delegation’s Office in Accra.

The Norwegian Ambassador would also host the winners at a private exhibition at the official residence in Accra.