* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Raising money at home could be one answer, a report says
The burden climate change poses to Africa will be unbearable, inflicting suffering on millions and reversing the development gains made over the past decade in highly climate sensitive major economic sectors. There will be no silver bullet solution to closing the huge adaptation costs which could soar to reach US $50 billion annually by mid-century according to the 2nd Africa Adaptation Gap Report.
Increasing temperatures- increasing suffering
Below a 2-degree Celsius increase in temperature, climate impacts on agriculture will result in major yield reductions of key staples (7 - 13 percent for maize, 11 - 40 percent for millet) resulting in 25 – 90 percent increases in incidences of undernourishment and putting 50 percent of Africa's population at risk of undernourishment and increased malnutrition, with the highest toll expected on children, the report says.
At 4 degrees Celsius additional warming, sea level rise will put over 10 million people at risk of flooding in large coastal cities in Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco and other countries by 2050 - and that is not to mention ensuing damage to infrastructure and disruption to food supplies in urban areas, exposing people to higher food prices. In terms of health, in addition to under-nutrition, increased malaria epidemics are also expected.
Astronomical cost of Africa adaptation
The astronomical cost as a result of increasing emissions makes adaptation an urgent imperative for Africa. Africa’s adaptation costs for the below 2 degrees Celsius and over 4 degrees Celsius warming scenarios are projected to exceed $1 trillion by the 2060s. Even with effective adaptation, the cost of residual damage is expected to be double the adaptation costs in the period 2030-2050.
Consequently Africa and international community need to find ways to cope with growing damages to avoid them further undermining Africa’s development and adaptation efforts.
Looking internally- closing the gap?
While these costs continue to escalate, official development assistance (ODA) to Africa is declining. Pledges from the G8 have been far from materialising.
However, Africa need not despair. Rising to the challenge and addressing the systemic harm that climate change may cause to African development prospects warrants leaving no stone unturned in exploring opportunities for supporting adaptation actions and measures in Africa.
The report findings show that even if the explored avenues for revenue generation were implemented across Africa, only a maximum of $3 billion per year would be raised by 2020 by pursuing a number of national and continental-wide measures elaborated in the report. Rapidly rising adaptation costs would exceed these potential revenues raised through levies as early as 2020.
While this is not adequate, it demonstrates the extent to which African countries can contribute to closing the adaptation gap so that the extent to which international climate financing should be mobilized to leverage local resources can be understood.
With the urgency at hand, mobilising domestic funding may just be the pathway Africa should follow to achieve inclusive growth under a changing climate, considering that its key economic sectors are climate dependent.
A steep and rapid increase in adaptation funding combined with what can be generated domestically is an urgently needed first step to close the adaptation-funding gap that the continent faces and avert the sufferings of millions and the irreparable damage that could reshape the contours of the entire continent.
The recommendations of the 2nd Adaptation gap report provide the needed space to start looking internally.
