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Most countries ‘woefully unprepared’ for changing climate: analysis
Some middle-income nations lack the infrastructure and
legislative freedom to keep pace with the changing climate.
Photo: Prakash SINGH / AFP/File
Major economies such as India, Brazil and Russia face “cascading” crises driven by climate change such as food insecurity, energy shortages and civil unrest, an industry analysis warned Thursday.
While developing nations of Africa and Southeast Asia are predicted to be worst hit by higher temperatures, extreme weather and sea-level rise, some middle-income nations lack the infrastructure and legislative freedom to keep pace with the changing climate.
And, as Europe counts the cost of another record-shattering heatwave, the analysis showed how even nations with typically few climate-linked crises will need to adapt as global temperatures rise.
The analysis looked at countries’ performances across 32 structural issues — including weather-related events, political stability, economic power, resource security, poverty and human rights — to assess each nations’ capacity to manage crises.
Unsurprisingly, most wealthy nations performed well and were found to be the most insulated against climate shocks thanks to a combination of good governance, purchasing power and robust infrastructure.
Developing nations were mainly deemed to be in the vulnerable category for lacking these safeguards. Several middle-income countries, however, including India, Indonesia and South Africa also fell into this grouping.
Risks will spill over
“The low levels of investment in looking at the secondary risks show that most countries are almost entirely unprepared to deal with the wider political, economic and developmental impacts of a warming planet,” said the analysis.
Will Nichols, head of climate and resilience at consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft that conducted the assessment, said the major surprise was in the middle — or the “precarious” category — which contained powerhouses such as Brazil, Mexico, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
“A slight change could see it drop into that bottom group and we are certainly seeing the erosion of environmental and social protections under (President Jair) Bolsonaro.
“In Russia, Arctic infrastructure is going to be undermined by warming and you could see a leader like (President Vladimir) Putin point the finger at other groups and seek to expand its territory,” Nichols said.
Although a G20 economy, Mexico landed in the precarious category largely due to its proximity to Central and South American nations such as Venezuela facing extreme climate-linked disruption, particularly in the form of mass migration.
“These risks aren’t contained by political boundaries, they will spill over,” said Nichols.
“Even if you have your house in order, if your neighbour is a basket case that can seriously undermine your ability to protect yourself.”
‘Don’t have resilience’
Under the UN-led climate action plan, rich nations promised in 2009 to provide $100 billion annually to at-risk countries by 2020 but have so far failed to even approach that level of funding.
Nichols said the analysis showed the need for developed countries to help nations that cannot help themselves.
“We’ve seen relatively small amounts of people arriving in Europe and the US due to climate impacts causing major issues,” he said.
“There’s an argument that we as insulated nations have a responsibility to help vulnerable nations to protect themselves, which in turn helps protect us.”
Nichols said this week’s deadly heatwave in Europe was proof that even rich countries needed to factor climate change into future business and governance decisions.
“The scale of the climate threat isn’t diminishing — it is obviously going to have a huge impact,” he said.
“But countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and South America don’t have the resilience to manage both the physical climate threat and the knock-on effects of political and supply chain instability.”
Source: AFP
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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