By Omar el-Hosseiny
Climate change is a major challenge to sustainable development worldwide, given its negative impacts on energy, food and health.
It affects water resources and agricultural and industrial activities. The number of people suffering from severe water poverty around the world is expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2025.
Efforts by international institutions to reduce potential damages have escalated, especially in most vulnerable regions, such as Central and West Africa.
International reports and environmental gatherings have highlighted a number of solutions. The Glasgow Climate summit, widely known as COP26, was the latest of these gatherings.
Weaknesses
Africa’s vulnerability to climate change is caused by – among other factors – the weak political and cultural adaptive capacity in it, the unsustainable management of resources that depletes the ecosystem, and reliance on unfriendly agricultural and industrial production systems.
Surface temperatures in Africa increased from the late 19th century to the early 20th century by about 0.5°C on average.
Central Africa is expected to experience longer and more frequent heat waves, as well as an increase in maximum temperatures of 1.5°C to 2°C.
East Africa has also experienced frequent and severe droughts in recent decades.
Worsening consequences
Africa is most vulnerable to severe impacts from climate change due to its location and limited adaptation capacity which was exacerbated by widespread poverty and low development.
Negative environmental impacts may increase, if appropriate measures are not taken to reduce global carbon emissions.
Agricultural activities in most African countries depend on rain, which makes them particularly vulnerable to climate variability and change.
Projected imbalances in rainfall patterns due to climate change are likely to lead to shortened growing seasons and the underproduction of some crops across Africa.
The risk is multiplied because of poor management and limited access to technology and resources for adaptation.
Economic research has found the current approach to have led to a reduction in agricultural revenues in some African countries by 50% in 2020.
African countries have the least efficient public health systems in the world. Infectious diseases are affected by climate change.
As climate change continues, African regions, especially in the West African coast to the highlands between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, will suffer greater pressures in terms of malaria transmission rates throughout the year.
The requirements of sustainable development will increase as Africa’s population grows, especially in terms of energy.
Reduced precipitation and water levels and widespread droughts made it difficult for Africans to generate hydroelectric power from dams at the same rates as before.
This has led to a high cost of energy, and increased rates of blackouts in some African countries, such as Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Glasgow solutions
The final communiqué of COP26 called for allocating funds to help the poorest countries cope with the consequences of climate change, such as storms, heat waves and droughts, which will double by 2025.
Several major industrialised countries promised in 2009 to increase their aid to developing countries in Africa and other regions to $100 billion.
However, these countries have not yet fully fulfilled their pledge, which has made the situation even more difficult.
A proposal from developing countries was made at COP26 to establish a mechanism that would take into account losses and damages.
It was agreed to stress commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement by the end of the summit.
Nonetheless, many steps have to be taken to reduce potential economic burdens on African countries.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s speech at the Glasgow summit confirmed the inevitability of achieving the summit’s goals.
He said Egypt is committed to the cause by taking serious steps to implement its National Climate Change Strategy and making 50% of government-funded projects green by 2025, and 100% by 2030.
Egypt was selected to host COP27, thanks to its efforts in combating climate change and developing mechanisms to encourage investment in the green economy.
Egypt became the Middle East’s largest solar power producer after the opening of the Benban solar power plant.
President Sisi also affirmed Egypt’s awareness of the magnitude of the challenges facing all developing countries.
These countries’ ability, he said, to honour their commitments to confronting climate change hinges on the amount of international support they receive.
Omar el-Hosseiny is a researcher at local think tank,
Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies.
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