Experts expect Sahel, other vulnerable regions in Africa to lose 15% of GDP to climate change

Experts said on Wednesday countries in Africa could lose an average of two to five percent of their Gross Domestic Products (GDP) to climate change.

They predicted that vulnerable regions such as the Sahel could lose up to 15 percent of their GDP in even moderate warming scenarios.

The experts stated these as part of their submissions at the Africa Climate Week which ended on Wednesday.

The Director of Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Jean-Paul Adam, who was the lead speaker at the event, said: “At both the national and global levels, the conversation is built around finance, because the COVID19 pandemic has further narrowed the fiscal space available to African countries to mobilise the desperately needed resources.”

Adam said developed countries must meet their $100 billion climate finance pledge to help the most vulnerable in developing countries.

READ ALSO: World Bank expects climate change to force 216m migrants back home by 2050

“The $100 billion is just the first step, as we need to have a detailed schedule of resources that will be available for African countries to invest in a green recovery,” he added.

The ECA Director said Africa needs a predictable flow of resources that would be available in 2025 and beyond.

“The African Union has paved the way for this with the adoption of an African green Stimulus programme in January of this year,” Adam concluded.

On his part, Head of Environment, Climate Change, Water and Land Management at the AUC, Harsen Nyambe, cited the low implementation of existing policies and strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change in Africa as a major challenge on the continent.

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