Africa and Climate Change

The climates of Africa are both varied from humid equatorial regimes, through seasonally-arid tropical regimes, to sub-tropical Mediterranean-type climates. These climates are considerably varying because of natural variability and anthropogenic climate change.  

Indeed, the climate of Africa is warmer than it was 100 years ago. Although there is no evidence for widespread desiccation of the continent during this century, in some regions substantial interannual and multi-decadal rainfall variations have been observed and near continent-wide droughts in 1983 and 1984 had some dramatic impacts on both environment and some economies (Benson and Clay, 1998).

A warming climate will nevertheless place additional stresses on water resources, whether or not future rainfall is significantly altered. Model-based predictions of future greenhouse gas-induced climate change for the continent clearly suggest that this warming will continue and, in most scenarios, accelerate so that the continent on average could be between 2º and 6ºC warmer in 100 years time (Hulme et al., 2000).

Actually, due to its limited capacity to adapt and the poverty of its population, Africa is the more vulnerable region in the World. This vulnerability is observed in high sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water resources, coastal management, health, and drylands.

Therefore, the current negotiations on the new climate change regime places Africa in the center of debate. To tackle climate change, Africa needs additional resources to increase its adaptive capacities, to acquire environmentally friendly technologies, to fight against deforestation and land degradation, and contribute to climate change mitigation.

In response to climate change, the African Development Bank is deploying several efforts, based on its two major strategies: the Climate Risk Management and Adaptation Strategy (CRMA) and the Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF).