A new report by Mo Ibrahim Foundation claims that climate change will push about 40 million additional people in sub-Saharan Africa into extreme poverty by 2030.
Titled “The 2022 Forum Facts & Figures: The Road to COP27: Making Africa’s Case in the Climate Debate”, the report which was launched on Wednesday, focused on the need for greater consideration of Africa’s specific position within the global debate on climate change.
According to the report, “39.7 million additional people in sub-Saharan Africa could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to climate change, more than in any other world region”.
The report which highlighted Africa’s consistent resource potential showed that the continent possesses all the key assets to accelerate the global transition to a green and sustainable economy.
It however explained that for this potential to be achieved, the continent will need to break from the “natural resource curse” and focus on leveraging financial resources, strengthening governance frameworks and natural resource management.
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The report found that while Africa remains the least responsible world region for climate change, accounting for 3.3 per cent of total global carbon emissions since 1960, it is the worst hit by the impact of climate change.
“In 2020, the whole of Africa’s per capita carbon emissions were ten times lower than North America’s,” the report said. “Between 2010 and 2022, the number of people affected by drought amounted to at least 172.3 million while the ones affected by floods amounted to at least 43.0 million”.
The report maintained that Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change due to pre-existing development challenges that exacerbate climate impact and lower resilience.
Founded in 2006, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation is a non-governmental organisation which focuses on the importance of political leadership and public governance across Africa.
The Foundation’s 2022 Forum Facts & Figures which was launched six months ago, provided a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and prospects of the global climate crisis from Africa’s perspective.
Story was adapted from Premium Times.
