Africa losing 15% GDP to climate change: AfDB

Africa has been losing five to 15 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita growth to climate change and its related impacts.

Group acting chief economist and vice president, African Development Bank (AfDB), Kevin Urama, said this in a statement posted on the bank’s website on Tuesday.

Mr Urama added that Africa needed $1.6 trillion between 2022 and 2030 to meet its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The AfDB vice president said this on Wednesday at a panel discussion on the sidelines of the Egypt International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF 2022) in Cairo.

NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Countries submit them under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Collectively, African countries received only 18.3 billion dollars in climate finance between 2016 and 2019. This results in a climate finance gap of up to 1288.2 billion dollars annually from 2020 to 2030. Climate change affects Africa severely, while the continent contributes to only three per cent of global emissions,” said Mr Urama.

He reiterated the need for the global community to meet its $100 billion commitment to helping developing countries and African economies mitigate climate change’s impacts and adapt to it.

Egyptian environment minister Yasmine Fouad highlighted Egypt’s national strategy for alignment for climate mitigation and adaptation, which had five key pillars.

He, however, added that the fight against climate change needed an integration among the government, civil society and the private sector.

Ghada Wally, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said women and young people were among Africa’s best assets.

(NAN)