Economic Management of Climate Change in Africa
Greenhouse gasses, “common but differentiated responsibilities”, rural poor/poverty, global greenhouse gasses, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), G8 countries, African Risk Capacity.
Growing concern of climate change make world leaders weary of what role our environment plays in politics and economics. Global warming is occurring, and the future predictions for severity are still data for scientists. Today, governments and actors meet to discuss ways to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases. The unique aspect about global warming and climate change is in the collective harms it creates. Unlike the threats of social construction (i.e. ethnic conflict), the power of global warming is not repelled at a boarder or turned away with diplomacy or political tact. Once we are set on the path towards a climate crisis, it is not a question of how but when.
For governments, responding to this incoming threat has left underdeveloped countries at a significant disadvantage. Developed countries are more capable at countering global warmings effects, despite being the major contributors to greenhouse emissions. Discussions by policymakers have established a principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”. This principle would place pressure on wealthy nations such as the United States to do more in addressing global warming than poorer countries who have emitted less.
The World Bank has reported that climate change in developing countries affects the poor more than the wealthy in a said country. Comparatively, poor groups in developing countries classify as living in absolute poverty, and suffer extreme levels of vulnerability and deprivation. Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund have begun projects with a goal of removing many rurally impoverished populations from the cycle of poverty through a multi-layered approach. The International Monetary Fund is an international aid program that has increasingly focused on relieving developing countries poor, specifically the ‘rural poor’ populations. While poverty reduction is a topic of great importance for global actors, it will not be the primary focus of this article.
Africa’s Response
Since the 1970’s Africa has noticed the impact of climate change (although the overarching problem of global warming has existed far longer). A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported the following statistics: Southern areas of Africa face an increase in temperature. Africa as a whole will experience a decrease in precipitation and an increase of extreme weather conditions. Increase in overall temperature will bring droughts and cause many to suffer heat-related deaths such as strokes and dehydration, as well as limit an individual’s capacity to work in extreme weather conditions. A decrease in precipitation alongside the rise of temperatures brings about droughts and dries out once-fertile land to be used for agriculture. Africa’s food supply comes mainly from farmers within Africa. A decrease in agricultural and grazing land for cattle would cause starvation of Africa’s major supply of fresh food and water. Without viable trading partners or a stable footing in the global market, Africa would starve itself as its land’s become barren. Many of Africa’s workers are either farmers, herders, or both.
African leaders have less access to mitigation finances, institutions and environmental experts to face these challenges. Independent of the impact to human developments, climate change will also offset the fragile ecosystem in Africa and threaten wildlife. East Africa already reported of rivers drying up and increasing the danger to at-risk populations of rhinos, lions, elephants, and buffalo that are unique to African biodiversity.
Developed countries have taken notice of Africa’s handicaps. G8 countries have committed to investing into Africa’s education as well as putting experts into countries. These experts in environment, science and technology aim to help develop Africa’s capacity of mitigating climate change. In lieu of African citizens’ responses to climate change, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia have stepped up to aid development efforts in Africa. This response will only bear fruit if serious investments are made in Africa’s infrastructure. A fiscal commitment would not only be necessary, but has to be consistently applied to the correct sectors within Africa to achieve long-term success. Climate change has impacted rural populations more so than urban; in Africa rural populations mainly consist of farmers and herders as per the traditional African societies in each region.
Africa has responded to the challenges posed by climate change: the African Union (AU) has an agency within it called the African Risk Capacity (ARC). The ARC has implemented sectors to focus on different challenges of climate change, the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited being the financial division. An African Development Bank exists with the goal of maintaining a stockpile of funds to pay for environmental disasters. Unique to the ARC, the program operates as an environmental insurance to potential damages of climate change; droughts and food scarcity being some. Countries must opt into the program, paying a premium to be a member. As many African states have low GDP rankings, few states have utilized the program. Some local populations have taken a communal approach to changing climate and environmental damage, forcing farmers and local communities to practice more sustainable methods to keep the environment replenishing. This has been most effective in areas where outside aid in the form of scientists and academics have intervened and taught local populations about sustainable methods and practices.
The damage felt by climate change is eminent, and some countries desperately need tangible solutions to the problem. A push for science and policy within African states is a heavy burden, but continued efforts by the ARC are making small steps to tackling the world’s second largest continent with 11,677,239 square miles to cover. Underdevelopment is already abundant in the continent, and wildlife is in a delicate struggle to maintain a balance. The task ahead is not easy, and more African countries will need to engage with global actors to begin discussing solutions. However, the solution may be locked in a country’s willingness to commit to changing environmental practices and pushing for cleaner living practices. This goal is even more difficult to accomplish when Africa is a recently emerged post-colonial continent, shattered political systems and civil rebellions are in abundance, and thus placing the people in their own fragile way of life. We must also ask ourselves to what extent other countries are responsible for offering aid, and whether or not post-colonial powers have a moral obligation to step in and offer their expertise.
