Young Positivist Writes : My Experience with GCLP

Folks, in a cautious effort to raise awareness of climate change and its effects on humans and ecosystems, I have decided to talk about another important aspect of climate change: climate education. In this piece, I will discuss the Ghana Climate Literacy Portal (GCLP), how it has shaped my understanding and perspective on climate change, and how it has recently inspired me to contribute to my climate-change write-ups.

Climate change is an important matter that needs to be taken seriously, and climate education is equally essential. Climate education empowers citizens to take meaningful action. Climate change affects everyone. It does not discriminate based on whether someone knows about it or not.

The Ghana Climate Literacy Portal (GCLP) is Ghana’s first national, open-access digital learning platform. It is a free, self-paced education that empowers you to understand, respond to, and lead climate action. If you have little or no knowledge about climate change and its related matters, then the GCLP platform must be your go-to place to seek a better understanding that will help you to make important decisions.

I first heard about this platform at the beginning of 2026 when I applied for the Climate Activist Program (CAP 26) organised by Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). The requirement was simple but a strenuous task. You will have to go to the GCLP platform and register to take a course, and when you finish, you will upload your certificate to complete the application process.

I had to pause the application and head to the portal to register so I could take the course. The required course to complete was Climate 101, which is an introduction to Climate Science. The course has eight modules spanning from an introduction to climate science down to climate resilience in Africa. The presentation was done by Professor Yaw Agyeman Boafo from the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies(C3SS) at the University of Ghana.

Now, the most interesting part was that each of the modules had an accompanying quiz. When you finish watching a module, you will have to take the quiz and get at least a 70% pass mark before you can proceed to the next one. Does this sound scary to you? Initially, it did, but when I finished the first module and took the quiz, it was very easy for me to pass and move to the next level.

So at least I finished the CDKN requirement and uploaded the certificate to complete the application process. My application was successful, and I participated in the program that took place in Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana.

After the program, I went back to the portal to rewatch the first course again, this time without taking the quiz. This was to help me get a better understanding of the course and how I could explain climate change to people without any difficulty. This really helped me to comprehend the modules better than the first time I watched. This time, there was no pressure, and my understanding got better.

The Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) talks about six important elements. ACE is where people are empowered to take action. Out of the six elements of ACE, the GCLP platform covers about four of them, which are education, public access to information, awareness raising and training. GCLP is a platform that will educate you, train you, help raise your awareness of climate knowledge and train you to get the requisite knowledge that will empower you to take meaningful actions.

Article six of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement talk about climate education, training and all the elements of ACE. And this is what GCLP is doing here in Ghana and Africa. It is providing the necessary education about climate change and the need to take action. It is providing free access to climate education and helping to blow the cornet of climate change.

One will ask, is it only one course that is on the platform? There are three other courses taught by experts and professionals in the climate space. The rest of the courses are climate advocacy, which has six modules, from an introduction to climate advocacy to the future of climate advocacy in Ghana. This course is taught by Isaac Danso with the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana (EPA Ghana).

The next course is Built Environment, Climate Adaptation & Resilience, taught by Dr. Jacob Dodoo from the School of Built Environment at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD). This course has 10 modules, starting from Introduction to the Built Environment and Climate Change in Ghana to Inclusive Infrastructure: Gender, Equity, and Community Resilience.

The last course is about climate negotiations. You want to understand how the UNFCCC works and how decisions are made? Then this is the right course for you. This course is taught by Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, who is the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) on Climate Change and also the Director, Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation, Climate Change Department, Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana.

I have had the opportunity to take all four courses on this platform, and the impacts it has had on me are enormous. One vital experience I had after watching the built environment course is how I try to manage my energy consumption efficiently. And the consciousness it has created for me. I have also appreciated the concept of climate education better. All these benefits are a result of the Ghana Climate Literacy Portal.

Since coming into contact with this platform, it has ignited and illuminated my passion and desire for climate action. It has deepened my understanding of climate advocacy and the need for everyone to take action. It has enabled and emboldened me to write about climate change subjects like proforestation and waste trafficking in Ghana, which have been widely publicised.

I am grateful to GCLP and all of its partners for putting out this incredible platform for free. If you are wondering how to gain knowledge or how to start, I urge you to start with the Ghana Climate Literacy Portal. It will lay the foundation you are yearning for, and it will help you do greater works.

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