EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF SUSTAINABILITY

 EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF SUSTAINABILITY

ABSTRACT
Climate change increases the costs of development in the poorest countries by between 25 and 30 percent. Sustainable development emerged as a unifying concept in international relations almost 20 years ago with the publication of the report of the Brundtland Commission. Since then, and especially because of the Rio principles and Agenda 21 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, has won almost universal acceptance as a principle. Climate change has traditionally been characterized as an environmental issue and is now affecting every country on every Continent. In Africa climate change is already being felt by rising temperature which has affected the health, livelihoods, food productivity, water availability, and security. According to the Climate Change Vulnerability index for 2015, seven of the ten countries most at risk from climate change are in Africa. Africa has seen a decrease in rainfall over large parts of the Sahel and Southern Africa, and an increase in parts of Central Africa. Over the past 25 years, the number of weather-related disasters, such as floods and droughts, has doubled, resulting in Africa having a higher mortality rate from droughts than any other region. The gradual yet dramatic disappearance of the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro is a result of climate change (IPCC, 2001). The glaciers act as a water tower and several rivers are now drying up. It is estimated that 82% of the ice that capped the mountain, when it was first recorded in 1912, is now gone (IPCC, 2001). It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities, countries today and even more tomorrow. East Africa is facing the worst food crisis in the 21st century. According to Oxfam, 12 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in dire need of food. Rainfall has been below average with 2010/2011 being the driest year since 1950/1951, a serious problem for a continent almost entirely dependent on rain for its agriculture. The migration patterns, geographic range and seasonal activity of many terrestrial and marine species have shifted in response to climate change. The abundance and interaction among species has also changed (IPCC, 2014). Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is likely to surpass 3 degrees centigrade this century. Conflicts often occur over the use of already limited natural resources, fertile ground and water. Changes in the timing and intensity of rainfall have threatened water availability and are causing conflicts over this limited resource (IPCC, 2014). Climate change is the most significant challenge to achieving sustainable development, and it threatens to drag millions of people into grinding poverty. Climate-smart agriculture that increases yields and incomes, builds resilience, and reduces emissions while potentially capturing carbon is needed. The climate change we face today arises from the accumulated results of two centuries of unsustainable development, unsustainable industrial development, unsustainable energy production, unsustainable land use, unsustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today are 33 per cent higher than pre-industrial levels, and annual rates of increase have never been higher. These impacts, whether sea level rise, melting ice caps and glaciers, severe weather events, drought, flooding, warming, will affect every aspect of society and economic life. Air Pollution hurts the planet with increasingly deadly effects on life therefore countries should take measures to usher in a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future. The responsibility for action to address climate change, and to promote sustainable development, resides at the national level, shared between governments, industry and citizens. The beginnings exist in the form of the Framework Convention, and its Kyoto Protocol, the institutions, the reporting and review systems, the inventories, the financial mechanism and other funds. Every opportunity, including CSD 14, should be fully used to promote real action. It is time to act, and all the policy instruments needed to do are in front of us. To strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris, which went into force in November of 2016. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees centigrade. By April 2018, 175 parties had ratified the Paris Agreement and 10 developing countries had submitted their first iteration of their national adaptation plans for responding to climate change. Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience. A shift to a greener economy could create 24 million new jobs globally by 2030 if the right policies are put in place, says the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Key words: Climate change, framework, Kyoto protocol, temperatures, sustainability
By
VERONICA ONJORO
PhD STUDENT MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY
onjoroveronica@yahoo.com

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