*as AfDB says Africa loses 15% GDP to climate change

* U.S. commits $200m to address climate change in Nigeria

Augustine Aminu with agency reports

The President of the AfDB Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Patrick Verkooijen, the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) have raised the alarm that the lives of 600 million people in Africa are at risk because of the growing severity and frequency of droughts, according to a report.

In a report “Africa is Doubling Down on Climate Adaptation. Here’s Why it Deserves Support” obtained by NatureNews revealed that with much of the world struggling with crippling spikes in energy and food prices, it is tempting to set aside longer-term challenges such as climate change.

“Already, the lives of 600 million people who rely on rain-fed agriculture are at risk because of the growing severity and frequency of droughts. 

“Vast swaths of the continent will become unlivable unless we act now to protect people and livelihoods from the worst impacts of global warming”, the report stated.

The report also said that Africa only had a tiny window to build resilience against climate change, adding that large parts of Africa would become uninhabitable. 

It also said that on the current trajectory, global warming would cause an annual loss of up to four per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa by 2040. 

“Some nations are already spending the equivalent of 2.8 per cent of GDP to adapt to increasingly violent and unpredictable weather.

“This is an unfair burden. Africa, the continent that has contributed the least to global warming, is paying a steep price for the greenhouse gas emissions of the rich world.”

The report, however, noted that African governments were doubling down on climate adaptation. 

“Two years ago, they inaugurated the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP).

“This is with the aim of mobilising 25 billion dollars in adaptation investments by 2025. The African Development Bank has put up half of the funds already.”

It said that climate adaptation was Africa’s best chance to bring about a safer, greener and a more prosperous continent. 

The report said that the programme was already investing in projects that made the livelihoods of farming communities more secure. 

“It is improving the accuracy of weather forecasts and making data available to farmers via mobile apps, and providing drought-resistant crop varieties in regions where water is increasingly scarce or rainfall unreliable. 

“In some cities, urban infrastructure is being readied to withstand flash floods, extreme heat and other climate impacts. 

“The AAAP also aims to nurture climate entrepreneurs, particularly those who create career opportunities for young people,” the report said.

It recalled that at COP26 in Glasgow, the global donor community promised to double finance for adaptation from the current rate of up to a quarter of climate financial flows earmarked for the developing world.

“But yet again, committed funds have fallen short. With only two months to go to the next climate summit, which will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, it is time for donors to honor their pledges.

“Funding climate adaptation is not only the right thing to do. It is also smart.”

Furthermore, the report also said that the GCA calculated that for every dollar invested in climate-smart agriculture, as much as five dollars in benefits accrue. 

According to the GCA, just 15 billion dollars per year invested in climate-smart agriculture can help avert 200 billion dollars in damages from floods, lost production and paying for disaster relief.

The centre further suggested that the international community invest in long-term climate resilience.

Meanwhile, Africa has been losing from five per cent to 15 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita growth because of climate change and its related impacts.

Group Acting Chief Economist and Vice President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Kevin Urama, said this in a statement posted on AfDB website on Tuesday.

Urama added that Africa needed 1.6 trillion dollars between 2022 and 2030 to meet its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

According to the statement, the AfDB vice president said this on Sept. 7 at a panel discussion on the sidelines of Egypt International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF 2022) in Cairo.

NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

They are submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The panel discussion was titled, “African Countries Ownership in Determining Climate Agenda.”

“Collectively, African countries received only 18.3 billion dollars in climate finance between 2016 and 2019. This results in a climate finance gap of up to 1288.2 billion dollars annually from 2020 to 2030.

“Climate change affects Africa severely, while the continent contributes to only three per cent of global emissions,” said Urama.

He reiterated the need for the global community to meet its 100-billion-dollar commitment to help the developing countries and African economies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to adapt to it.

“Investing in climate adaptation in the context of sustainable development is the best way to cope with the climate change impacts; gas must remain included in the continent’s plan for the gradual transition to clean energy,” he said.

He also affirmed that Africa had great potential in terms of green investment opportunities that the private sector, including banks, could tap into.

Egyptian Environment Minister, Yasmine Fouad, highlighted Egypt’s National Strategy for Alignment for both climate mitigation and adaptation, which had five key pillars.

“The first pillar focuses on how we can adopt a low greenhouse path, which centers on the sectors around renewable transport, gas, industry and waste.

“The second one relates to adaptation and how best to make the communities more resilient. The third and fourth ones are focused on how to protect coastal zones and have more accessibility and availability of water.

“The last one is about the need for developing more smart and integrated concoctions and that’s the stereotype of a strategy on climate,” said Fouad.

He, however, added that the fight against climate change needed an integration among the government, civil society and the private sector.

Ghada Wally, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said women and young people were among Africa’s best assets.

Wally, who is also Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna, stressed the importance of exploring avenues to tap into “this significant asset for the sake of the continent’s sustainable development.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Mr John Kerry made a 200 million U.S. dollars commitment to start-up process on Clean Energy Demand Initiative to help address climate change in the country.

He made the commitment when his team paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Environment, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Kerry, who also signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the minister on the initiative, said the programme started in Glasgow.

According to him, the initiative is a way by which companies and countries can make decisions to implement buying or production of green products.

“The initiative is also to accelerate the marketplace creation, so that it will help transition programme faster and help to achieve a clean energy economy as well as dealing with climate crisis.

“The minister has agreed in the letter of intent. We have 200 million dollars at the moment committed to the startup in the process of safety,” he said.

Kerry said the initiative would take a lot of billions of dollars and trillions of investment in the country.

”We talked today about the ways in which we can be helpful to bring major amount of capital to the table with technology to help Nigeria, move faster to the clean energy economy.

“That is the future and all of the citizens of Nigeria will benefit from cleaner air,” he said.

He said that the programme would provide job opportunities and develop economic as well as promoting a healthy environment in the country.

“I will like to explore with you and listen to you to think through how we can work together as you implement your own climate change.

“As you also think about the long term future and sustainability for Nigeria for the Africa, we will like to explore with you on how we can increase the ambition that you have set out already in your Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

“I congratulate you. Nigeria is taking a lead towards COP 27 and it is an opportunity to reduce emissions and deal with the climate crisis.

“So, on that note, the initiative is a very important effort to try to send a signal to the marketplace and to bring your businesses to the table.

“We are going to work together. I’ve got a good team here.

“We are all working on this programme every day, trying to figure out the road ahead and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about that,” he said.

The minister said the MoU would help Nigeria to participate in the clean energy demand initiative being supported by the U.S. government.

He said the essence of the initiative was to ensure a healthy and clean energy accessible in the country.