Africa’s vulnerability to climate change is well documented, and a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns of melting glaciers, unpredictable floods and droughts that turn crops to dust. However, what it also does is put climate adaptation at the front and center of the continent’s priorities.
“Adaptation to climate change is the main concern of African countries, as reflected in the adaptation domain in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs),” said the report. It was released on Tuesday by the UN-affiliated WMO and African partners, including the African Union Commission.
African countries’ NDC priorities generally reflect the key role of agriculture in many African economies. For example, a review of NDCs from 53 African countries found that 38 listed the need for early warning systems to improve response to weather and climate hazards.
“In particular, the vast majority of parties have identified disaster preparedness and response as the top priority for disaster risk reduction, followed by detection, monitoring, analysis and prediction,” added the report The OMM .
Overall, Africa will need more than $3 trillion invested in mitigation and adaptation by 2030 to implement its NDCs. Countries currently spend between 2% and 9% of GDP on adaptation, depending on the wide variability across the continent. Adaptation costs are expected to reach $50 billion annually by 2050, and that’s even if the planet joins together and keeps the global temperature rise below 2°C.
the price of doing nothing
The costs of adaptation and mitigation are much less than the cost of doing nothing. Sub-Saharan Africa will need to spend 2% to 3% of GDP per year over the next decade, but the WMO report says investing in resilience and adaptation is up to 12 times cheaper than responding to climate problems.
“Adaptation to climate change would also benefit other areas of development, such as resilience to pandemics, and ultimately drive growth, reduce inequalities and maintain macroeconomic stability,” the authors said.
Many of the report’s findings point to the growing need for better adaptation through meteorological services. Increases in temperature and sea level in Africa are already above the world average.
Approximately 12% of all new population displacements on the planet occur in East Africa and the Horn of Africa region, approximately two-thirds of them due to dry, floods or other climatic and disaster-related reasons, said the WMO.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted household surveys in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania, as well as in the Sahel nations of Mali and Niger. They reveal that, among other things, better access to climate and meteorological data is needed to help African smallholder farmers practice ‘smart’ agriculture. This access has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of food insecurity.
Africa needs infrastructure to tackle climate change
Almost all African nations (92%, according to the WMO) do not have the necessary training and technology to provide these services. Data on climate, weather patterns and water resources are limited, as is the experience to provide them. Many of the systems used to communicate advance notice and other information are out of date.
WMO asserts that adaptation strategies are essential for pandemic recovery and future economic growth, but this is not limited to rural areas. Africa’s large and growing coastal cities, such as Lagos and Dar es Salaam, also face the climatic impacts of storms, sea level rise and flooding.
By Lauren Fagan. Article in English