In a 2023 blog post by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School titled ‘Unlocking the Power of International Cooperation in the Fight Against Climate Change,’ four key factors were identified as crucial for bolstering global cooperation in the battle against climate change. These factors include the creation and execution of international policies and institutions, partnerships, and climate funding. Additionally for Africa, recent evidence underscores the importance of educating citizens for increased participation and acceptance of climate change-focused measures. This essay explores the significance of these four points and how, with concrete examples, they can collectively strengthen the fight against climate change and its impacts on Africa. Climate change poses multilayered challenges for Africa, ranging from extreme weather events to rising sea levels and food security concerns. For example, the World Health Organisation (WHO) already estimates that 1 in 3 people in Africa face water scarcity and that by 2025, only a year away, climate change will have 240 million Africans facing water scarcity and 460 million living in water-stressed areas.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a third of deaths due to extreme weather events over the past 50 years have taken place in Africa and have progressively increased. An article in The Economist revealed that African countries estimated they needed $277 bn annually at COP 27 to fight climate change. With such devasting impacts ongoing and significant resources estimated, international cooperation becomes essential in navigating these challenges by combining resources, expertise, and strategies.
Hence, the first factor for effectively combating climate change and its impacts in Africa is the creation and execution of international policies and institutions. By effectively designing and developing adequate frameworks and guides, the appropriate environment can be fostered to implement scale at change. Specifically in Africa, collaborative policies and institutions help streamline existing policies and strengthen weak ones. An example is the 2022 ‘AU climate strategy’ launched by the African Union aimed at coordinating previous strategies such as ‘green recovery action plan(2021–2027)’, preexisting frameworks such as the ‘African Renewable Energy Initiative’ as well as encourage alignment of sub-continental African regional economic communities (such as Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA), the Eastern African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)) that devised some climate change strategies. This was to aggregate institutional and financial capacity for research, advice and coordination and trigger increased participation from member states. With the ‘AU climate strategy’, the AU is also perceiving to receive increased assistance at the global level for its requests for financial commitments.
The second factor, partnerships, are exemplified by initiatives like the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international intergovernmental organisation that collaborates with member African countries to promote sustainable development. By bringing together governments, NGOs, and the private sector from the Global South and North, such partnerships enable holistic approaches to climate action, fostering innovation and addressing unique vulnerabilities. The advantage of this partnership in South-South and South-North relationship is the hosting of technology transfer, knowledge sharing and capacity building. For instance, enabling technical capacity for the government of Rwanda in plans for national vision 2050, according to GGGI, enabled the organisation to support the development of the Rwanda Green Fund which emphasises green growth principles and technologies in urban planning and development but ensures the country is more resilient for the future. On a reflective stance, crucial partnerships such as GGGI’s with African governments like Rwanda, Burkina Faso etc enable smaller countries to receive tailored assistance.
Climate funding, the third factor, addresses financial barriers to implementation. Agreeably, Africa cannot fight the impacts of climate by itself. First, the continent grapples with competing priorities of development across its healthcare, sanitation, education, transport, and production sectors as well as conditions of political and security threats. With about 431 million inhabitants out of 1.3 billion living below the extreme poverty line of 1.90 US daily in 2022, according to Statista, leaders are laden with the delicate responsibility of improving citizenry lives on limited national incomes. Second, the UN’s Environment Programme indicated that, although the continent is responsible for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to the world’s richest 10% producing over half of global carbon emissions, Africa is the most vulnerable region to climate change. Hence, the disproportionate impact has created a solicitation for pledges from the Global North, which has also been severely criticized for being unfulfilled over time.
However, individual funds such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has already disbursed 4.1 billion USD and implemented 11.2 billion USD to 129 developing countries can fill in the gap. Although funds like these fall short of the annual 100–200 billion USD needed in total for African countries, they do provide some respite.
The fourth and last factor, citizen education, acts as a catalyst for increased public engagement. An example is the Climate Smart Agriculture project in Kenya (KCSAP), where local communities (targeted 4.5 million smallholder farming and 600,00 pastoral communities) are educated on sustainable farming practices through sponsorships and collaborations with Multilateral Development Banks (MLDBs) and private organisations. Evidence has shown that informed and empowered communities are more likely to participate in and support initiatives that promote sustainability, ensuring the success of climate policies at the grassroots level. With, KCSAP, that was no different. The local-led implementation ensured formidable implementation. The KCSAP has been implemented in 24 counties and impacted an estimated 6 million households, improving food production and strengthening food security as well as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
In conclusion, international cooperation, guided by policy creation, partnerships, climate funding, and citizen education, is instrumental in strengthening the fight against climate change in Africa. Through concrete examples, it is evident that collaborative efforts can make a significant impact in addressing the unique challenges faced by the continent, fostering resilience, sustainability, and a shared vision for a climate-safe future.