stephannie Adinde
Should Africa be worried about climate change?
“Environmentalists and economists have been cat and dog. Environmentalists see economists as the mercenaries of a culture of greed, the cheerleaders of an affluence that is unsustainable. Economists see environmentalists as romantic reactionaries, wanting to apply the brakes to an economic engine that is at last reducing global poverty.”
Paul Collier, The Plundered Planet
During my time at university, as I eagerly registered for new classes, I skipped the module on climate change and sustainable development and moved on to more interesting ones like project management and public policy. "It's a western problem", I thought, and there are more pressing issues to deal with. However, I soon discovered that I was mistaken. The reality is, climate change is not peculiar to the Global North, it affects every one of us in different ways.
Climate change, environmental sustainability and resilience have become buzzwords in the global policy space. In the past year, I am certain that you have come across at least one of these terms. There is finally a global acceptance that climate change is very real and if we do not start making radical changes, we will all have to face the consequences in the near future. The numerous high-level conferences and summits that have been held by the United Nations (UN) since the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, and even more by various global interest groups denote the growing significance of the issue.
The winners and the losers
Less than 3% of the world’s total emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) emanate from Africa and in per capita terms, Africa contributes the least to global climate change. This is primarily because of the low levels of industrial activity on the continent. Yet, Africa will feel the most adverse effects of climate change.
The erratic rains and floods, prolonged droughts, crop failures and rapid desertification that are now prevalent in most countries are already signifying that climate change is disrupting the environment of many African countries. There is evidence that temperatures are rising on the continent and Africa is warming faster than the global average and this is likely to persist over the years (See Figure 1). The negative impacts of climate change are exacerbated by other factors such as poverty, diseases, and a burgeoning population.
