BUSINESS REPORTER
Despite representing just 17% of the world’s population and emitting just 4% of global pollution, Africa stands as the most affected continent in terms of climate change, experts have said, calling for more support to rescue the continent.
A senior environmental expert from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Linus Mofor, noted that “African economies are losing on average 5% of GDP because of climate change, increasing up to 15% in some countries.”
He was speaking during a virtual meeting on ‘partnerships for tools and capacities to integrate climate resilience in investments for the SDGs,’ organised on the margins of the Eighth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD8).
Other panellists included representatives from the African Union, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
The experts said the absence of global concerted action on keeping warming at below 1.5 degrees means that African countries must be supported with the tools and capacities needed to integrate climate resilience in the huge investments needed to close development gaps.
Mofor said that African countries have shown “great leadership” on climate action, stating, “all but two African countries have ratified the Paris Agreement with ambitious NDCs requiring up to US$3 trillion for implementation.”
Professor Ken Strzepek of Industrial Economics Inc said the issue on how to provide Africa with adequate tools and capacities to build an integral climate resilient Africa should be addressed with actions.”
He said this while introducing the Africa Climate Resilient Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Tools and Capacity Development Programme.
AFRI-RES is a partnership between the Africa Union, African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the World Bank Group that was established with support from the Nordic Development Fund.
It seeks to set up an Africa-based centre of technical competence and excellence to assist governments, planners and private developers in Africa to integrate climate change in project planning and design, thereby attracting funding from both development and climate finance sources.