Climate crises caused massive disruptions to Africa’s human and economic potential in 2021, and they will continue to do so until significant investment is made in Africa’s adaptation capacity. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that US$100 billion needs to be invested annually by 2050. We are not even close to achieving this goal.
New research from the World Economic Forum, based on OECD data, found that adaptation funding to Africa amounted to less than US$5.5 billion per year between 2014 and 2018, which works out to roughly US$5 per person in Africa. That’s less than a large whipped cream topped coffee from Starbucks.
The Glasgow Climate Pact, signed at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, offers some hope that the situation could improve for Africa, which contributes only 4% of global emissions yet has the greatest risk to climate hazards. The Pact commits developed nations to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries from 2019 levels (US$80billion) by 2025.
Africa needs a coordinated and collaborative approach to ensure that developed nations honour their financial commitments and that climate funding reaches vulnerable societies – and specifically addressing water security, which binds so much of collective social, economic, and ecological objectives.
