Africa is responsible for just 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world, accounting for 17 of the 20 countries that were most at risk from climate change in 2020.1 According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, North and West Africa are particularly vulnerable, with a rise in temperature of between 1.5°C and over 3°C envisaged in various scenarios.2
Africa spends between 2 and 9 per cent of its budget on managing extreme weather events, which is a heavy burden on public finances and deprives the continent of part of its resources for financing development.3 Climate change thus threatens development gains and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Adapting to climate change and adopting a model for sustainable growth are becoming priorities. The major challenge in combating climate change is reducing resource use, on the one hand, and reducing the pollution generated by the extraction and use of resources, on the other. It is particularly challenging for high-income countries, which are responsible for climate impacts 10 times greater than those of low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Even if African countries demand the option to be able to increase their greenhouse emissions to meet their development needs, in particular for infrastructure, it would be to their benefit to build a development model that is both resilient to climate change and able to improve the well-being of populations while limiting the impact of climate change. Accordingly, the energy transition and the adoption of sustainable agricultural strategies are essential for energy and food security in North and West Africa, and, more generally, for the sustainable economic and social development of those subregions.
Since 1961, global warming has reduced agricultural productivity in Africa by 34 per cent.4 Sustainable agriculture requires soil and water management that is adapted to the climate. Access to electricity and clean fuel remains a challenge in Africa, affecting 53 per cent of the continent’s population. Renewable energy could be a solution, given that Africa is endowed with abundant renewable resources, including year-round sun and wind. Targeted investment could ensure near-universal access to electricity by 2050. That goal, however, requires a significant increase in funding – a doubling of investment to over $190 billion annually by 2030.