Climate Change Africa Consultations: Six Key Messages From Civil Society
“The impact of climate change will fall disproportionately on the world’s poorest countries, many of them here in Africa. Poor people already live on the front lines of pollution, disaster, and the degradation of resources and land. For them, adaptation is a matter of sheer survival.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, 12th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2006, Nairobi, Kenya.
In its most recent report, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the serious impact climate change will have on Africa. Overwhelming scientific and anecdotal evidence shows that climate change is happening now and there is an urgent need for African governments and the international community to help Africa adapt to it.
In response to this, LEAD Africa, LEAD International and their African partners, SouthSouthNorth (SSN), ENDA Du Tiers Monde (ENDA TM), and the African Centre for Technology (ACTS), brought together development and climate change experts from across sub-Saharan Africa to discuss how the continent should adapt to climate change. The aim was to build African ownership of the process, mainstream it, and generate solutions that will help Africa adapt.
This paper presents six key messages which represent a summary of the discussions and recommendations for action:
Message 1: The effects of climate change are already being felt in sub-Saharan Africa.
Message 2: Current development gains are threatened and future development and economic growth will be negatively affected.
Message 3: Adapting to Climate Change is imperative so a shared vision is needed.
Message 4: Even where adaptation is prioritised, governments face other significant challenges.
Message 5: Existing help from the international community isn’t always effective and a lot more needs to be done.
Message 6: Real change is possible and adaptation provides opportunities for moving towards sustainable development for Africa.
We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund in making these discussions possible.
Release date: Friday, February 8, 2008