The effects of a rapidly warming climate are all too evident in Africa. Floods described as “unprecedented” killed more than 200 people in Kenya in May and displaced thousands more. In the Sahel, the semi-arid strip south of the Sahara, climate change is causing desertification that has made livestock production increasingly difficult, exacerbating conflict and driving people to poverty. And, in west Africa, a lethal heatwave earlier this year has been attributed by scientists to human-induced climate change. The situation is expected to get worse.
As the world’s least industrialised continent, Africa currently contributes only 2 to 3 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources, according to UN data. But it is the continent most vulnerable to the effects of global warming, having less reliable infrastructure, energy production and funding to build resilience to climate change.
There is an urgent need for Africa to industrialise. Some 600mn people on the continent, or about half of its population, still lack access to electricity. This has detrimental effects on household income, education and overall economic growth. And 950mn people have no access to gas or electricity for cooking, so instead resort to burning charcoal or firewood.