This week, senior African officials held a virtual meeting to discuss the challenges Africa faces in coping with the growing population of climate change. The purpose of the conference is to determine how African governments manage these pressures to minimize or avoid conflicts.
Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions account for about 3% of the world’s total, the lowest of all continents. But it is more vulnerable than any other region in the world, because Africans rely heavily on the natural environment for food, water and medicine.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo spoke at a virtual conference on Africa’s climate, conflict and demographics on Tuesday, saying that African governments need to keep the climate in mind as they work to boost the economy.
“Our primary obligation to us and African countries must always be to ensure the well-being of our people through access to development services (including electricity, healthcare, education, safe work and a safe environment, including access to clean cooking fuels). We must prioritize and It is absolutely important to develop solutions that align with the climate agenda,” Osimbajo said.
The Center for Disaster Epidemiology in Brussels stated that in 2019, 56 extreme weather events were recorded in Africa, compared with 45 in the previous year.
Extreme weather patterns affected the lives of 16.6 million people in 29 countries. At least 13 million of them are from five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
West Africa has fewer weather-related disasters, but it also feels the effects of global warming.
Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment of Ghana, explained how climate change affects the country’s agricultural land.
“The harsh and deteriorating climatic conditions in northern Ghana have undoubtedly aggravated the growing food insecurity and seasonal north-south migration in the region. In addition, the increase in floods and persistent droughts has caused people to be displaced. Statistics show that in the past few years, due to Climate-induced disasters, even outside our borders, there is a new internal displacement in Ghana,” he said.
Hannah Tetteh, the UN Special Representative to the African Union, stated that the African continent needs to improve cross-border information sharing and cooperation to deal with climate-related crises.
“The challenge is not that we have not developed these structures. The challenge is that we have not used them effectively. This involves national sovereignty and member states’ unwillingness to get other countries to actively pay attention and may suggest things that need to be done. To deal with specific Crisis. If we realize that we are all together, then this must of course change,” she said.
As for specific recommendations, Osimbajo suggested that governments encourage more use of natural gas and plant more trees to maintain forests that can absorb carbon dioxide and prevent it from warming the atmosphere.
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