By Bisola Adeyemo
Some decision-makers during a study revealed that climate change should receive the same kind of attention as that of COVID-19.
The study which was led by Glasgow Caledonian University’s Centre for Climate Justice, focused on the experiences of policymakers in climate-hit regions of Africa, was launched on Tuesday, in Abuja, Nigeria at the sideline of the weeklong “Road to COP26 Conference” holding at the instance of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).
The study, which focused on the experiences of policymakers in climate-hit regions of Africa, recommends that climate emergencies should require governments to keep the public informed in the same way they have during the pandemic, with real-time data given as it has been for infection rates, death tolls and vaccination numbers.
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The study, tagged “Impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Africa”, also concluded that funding for developing countries must not be stopped or curtailed despite the economic fallout caused by the pandemic in wealthier nations.
According to Environews, the research consortium, led by PACJA in partnership with the Glasgow Caledonia University’s Centre for Climate Justice and academic partners from eight African universities, undertook the four-month project to explore the impact of COVID-19 on climate-change efforts by compiling case studies of policymakers from Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa.
A number of interviewees observed that climate change, despite “ultimately being deadlier than the COVID-19 pandemic”, has failed to elicit the same level of urgency among governments and civil society.
The study recommends treating climate change with the same severity as COVID-19, replicating the real-time reporting used during the pandemic for climate disasters, as well as adopting a precautionary approach to climate policy and programming.
