 My name is Portia Edumensa, the national coordinator for 350 Ghana reducing our carbon. In the investee, I started an NGO called DreamHunt, which helped me to be part of the seven selected young people to represent Ghana and be part of the 500 youth from 128 countries in Istanbul, Turkey, which was organized by 350.org. This advantage helped me to come back with the team to start what the organization called 350 Ghana reducing our carbon. Our aim was to help in stopping the establishment of coal in Ghana. Through this adventure, we helped in the government stopping the establishment of coal in Ghana and also transitioning into renewable energy as an alternative. This has helped in boosting our campaign and through this advocacy we are able to go into the grassroots and engage with the young people. And make sure that these young people have their advantage to understand why it is important for them to choose renewable energy as a career path line and also have the women also shifting to renewable energy because they are the most vulnerable and are being affected by climate change. Through the energy for communities campaign, at EPC, there are different segments of that work. So there is the lobbying aspects where the campaign group was working with government to ask them to really commit and really come through and really take on the 10% by 2030 a commitment into a reality for Ghana. Then as well in the communities, there is a section around a smaller campaign, the coin called Women in Renewable Energy, which was really focused on giving capacity to local women, women working in markets using Bobo Lamps to really build the capacity to enable them to understand how shifting to renewable energy is not only cheaper but also healthier for your own lifestyle as well as supporting your business. . . .  Reeシ ٌ中共   mèo   thong                                                                 Yusu                                                                                                                                               fonctionne by料 and good scenario.  Path is the hosting job of production of our equipment.  Path is the starter work for N ребята.  Path has been located like this. The production for chinese dtb is in the prince. The ownership property is the privilege of N��독. The next generation will rent it to Ngan Pho. the rechargeable bulbs, the renewable energy bulbs, we went there to do our monitoring and we realized that they have adapted to the renewable energy bulbs and have even gone ahead to buy bigger ones aside what we gave them and we believe that it's a step in the right direction in making that impact and these women in whatever they do in whatever businesses they are doing are using one form of fossil fuels depending on one form of fossil fuels or to the other so the impact we are making is changing their mindset in shifting from these fossil fuels and moving on to renewable energy and they have also accepted it and they are adapting to it because they have seen changes that the renewable energy product has brought into their business and into their lives over the last couple of years we have worked with 350gana reducing our carbon on a number of campaigns we visited schools educating young people about renewable energy we have also held processions and submitted petitions to the energy ministry and the energy commission pushing them to commit to the 10% renewable energy target in Garnet energy mix we have also gone to communities engaging them driving the adoption of renewable energy technologies in the area of clean cook stoves in the area of solar lanterns and solar bulbs we have also engaged with traditional leaders through festivals trying to push them to become advocates for renewable energy in their communities for me the new energy is very good before Pungu was having a low shadow of electricity no current and by then there was commerce but sometimes the light will be there and it's not stronger like the way it should be and when they brought that solar panel I learned they were saying that it's 2.5MHz and it's going to join to the national grid and then improve our life system in Navrongo not in Pungu alone but we can see that now the electricity the low shadow it has minimized not in the previous years so it has set again we can see that I have seen a lot of people we have dry sitting gardens like this we see a lot of people have been using the solar to pump for the pump machine to pump water from the ground and water their crops so we see that the renewable energy is very important and it's needed in Navrongo even all the tree regions in the northern so it's good for the renewable energy think everybody is in need of this renewable energy because it will bring your cost down because when you have a solar panel the sun is free and it will bring you power I think everybody will be needed only how to get this is the problem so if so far as you are here all my fathers the paramounties across the region and the business chiefs across the region will be needed so we are all ready and we are there when we come at any time we can provide the land no chief will say that he don't even need the renewable energy because they have seen it in Navrongo and probably Pungu they know what the solar can give to the people when they came we ourselves our people, the community leaders and opinion leaders chiefs and landlords came together they knew the benefit of the solar because always we have life sufferings so we were even happy hearing that they are coming to give a solar and they will upgrade it to the national level so that it can help other communities and towns so we are very happy and glad to receive them it has helped us a lot because previously at night the place always is dark and our children can get access to learning the school children especially and you know certain times during the dry season our women, the hairdressers they used to bob even in the night so without the lights they couldn't do anything but now there is more improvement and any time at all they can learn in the night it used to be dark everywhere and even it makes us very difficult you don't know where to pass and where not to pass so now everywhere there are lights street lights everywhere so we are very comfortable so I encourage every community to accept this and the solar it has helped a lot to help our people and now I have one of my members who is having this in a barbering shop where you are going to San Dima at your right hand side certain times he put on the solar and he is using the solar solar alone that one is not even using ne together with I mean the grade and it is very very good so to me I would even advocate that if solar a company can come or government can come to just put solar system that will power the houses I think course wise you drive it down the course and then life will be cool for us young people require improved skills in being able to participate effectively in the renewable energy space especially by taking up careers in renewable energy solar installation skills biomass clean cooking biomass briquette production and stuff and also becoming renewable energy consultant a lot of opportunities and the need for us to enhance youth skills training youth involvement in decision making around renewable energy youth participation in renewable energy activities is very important to be able to build their capacity at the same time they need to also provide entrepreneurship and innovation for young people to be able to take up bring out renewable energy enterprises is key because for young people besides education the next thing they want is jobs how do we ensure that renewable energy create jobs for young people especially young graduates from the universities and colleges to be able to take up jobs in renewable energy to me it's a renewable source of energy so it doesn't harm the environment that much not like it doesn't harm the environment and to the country it will serve as a source of it minimizes the cost at which the country who put into electricity introducing solar to in the school would help reduce the rate at which the school management pay electricity bills it's a very good we won't have the problems of light out and stuff and as a girl too I would encourage many girls to involve in this technical training because it's a very nice dance we are demanding that governments be more ambitious in achieving 10% renewable energy and we are demanding that more young people are equipped and given the opportunity to build their own second base solutions in renewable energy we are demanding that our women have the opportunity to have access to clean cooking base solutions and we are demanding that our women are put in the front line to have a voice especially at the grass roots level in helping us harness and achieve base we have a panel of sand and that we can use for the solar, the wind we have a lot of opportunities in Africa and Ghana and so we believe that it is a sure way a way out now we need to leave the oil on the ground and look at that alternative which is the best alternative and for us Africa, Africa you know you are saying that gas is renewable which we are saying no because it's not renewable and so we want them to be bold to stand on the ground and know what is good for Africa and we should not be bullied around for me African leaders have a long way to go, they have the power they have the will a lot of community are backing them they should stand fair and speak to the issues let's use our own resources that we have in the continent whether from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana you know that we have an issue in terms of energy access and also there are existing massive issues around energy justice where there are human rights violations where companies, multinationals come to countries, promise us you know our communities jobs if they turn to fossil fuels but at the end of the day most communities are left displaced they are left they are moved out of their cultural homes they lose their land and yet they don't get the benefit that they are promised from fossil fuels so why we need to power up is to really push for energy justice that really puts communities first and a community led because that is when we will prosper this energy shouldn't be for the outside if this is a resource that we can tap for ourselves as the continent why not I think community first if the community wants energy anything more or less ARRI has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to the point of having zero emissions which goes a long way to help us to achieve the 1.5 climate targets that we want to achieve renewable energy is also very very crucial because it is the avenue to empower African countries to become energy self-sufficient and be less dependent on fossils so the potential of renewable energy cannot be understated because it also helps us to provide very clean air and also help us to save the planet I think we are in the best position to be a clean energy hub as in a renewable energy hub and that will be the I think the best focus for our continent and not gas or oil or other tap resources that we feel like those will give us you know development I think development is what you make it and renewable energy is the way to go Africa is blessed with abundant sunlight and wind and it's important that we have an African based solutions to our climate issue let's build the capacity of our young people and build the capacity of our women so that we together can help the climate issues and have the best solutions in Africa this time has come to power for communities and for a livable planet Africa let's choose African based solutions to our climate issues let's power up to renewable energy let's power up for renewable energy for communities power up for renewable energy in Africa let's power up African women to take action in climate change let's power African women to get involved in climate activities and push for renewable energy in their communities let's power up for schools across Ghana let's power up let's power up for affordable and decentralized renewable energy let's power for communities let's power for justice let's power up for future generations