Climate Action and Africa – Opportunities for Diplomatic Engagements

An insightful African proverb reminds us that “until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter”. From the onset, we need to appreciate that there can be no meaningful development without peace, and there can be no peace without meaningful diplomacy. And diplomacy cannot be significant if it does not lead us to one destination called “socio-economic progress”. This is an urgent priority as the continent drive the post-COVID-19 recovery. The 2020 UNEP Adaptation and Emissions Gap Report called for a “Green Pandemic Recovery”, which implied a re-prioritization of investments to target trajectories that lower emissions while simultaneously unlocking socio-economic priorities and cutting emissions by up to 25% by 2030.?

“If we close our eyes to facts, we will learn through accidents”. The science is unequivocally clear on Africa’s climate predicament. And in a short sentence, it can be described as “disproportionate vulnerability”. Overarchingly, while unmitigated climate change is projected to shrink incomes globally by up to 23%, for developing countries – the majority being in Africa, the shrinkage is pegged at 75%. The net effect of this disproportionality is an escalation of socio-economic misery that is already at a breaking point. Be it food insecurity, where already 257 million people go to bed hungry every day; nutritional security where already over 60 million children are malnourished, costing the continent between 1.9% and 16% of its GDP; youth unemployment, wherewith up to 60% of the unemployed being young people, an estimated 12 million enter the labour market every year to compete for fewer jobs – among many.

These devastating impacts act as threat multipliers to conflict. Studies show that 80% of countries that host the most multilateral peace operations personnel are highly exposed to climate change. 8 of the top 10 of these countries are in Africa. One does not have to look far for a real-life example of how these variables correlate. Africa’s the Sahel gives a typical example. This region emits less than 3% of the greenhouse gases that just one industrialized country emits. However, it experiences rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, fluctuating rainfall, and droughts. These degrade land and water supplies to impact the core livelihood source of over 60% of the population, which is livestock farming. For instance, in just one country, up to 100,000 hectares of arable land is lost every year. Such losses jeopardize food and livelihood security, which drives strife and competition for limited opportunities – and the result is conflict. Conventional military approaches alone have been unsuccessful in taming the multi-dimensional conflicts in this region. It is time to prioritize a tested and genuine approach – empowering socioeconomically. A person with a running enterprise and protected investments will not be easily lured into destructive actions.

With all this, the question we need to answer today is how you can drive climate action from an opportunities lens that simultaneously addresses pollution and ecological degradation while unlocking inclusive and competitive socio-economic opportunities. This will all depend on fashioning your philosophical approach to climate change diplomacy in Africa. And to be effective, the approach should have a laser-sharp focus towards actualizing the core of climate and environment action – achieving a just transition. We look not only at emissions reduced and degradation reversed but also at the number of homes made more food secure; at the number of young people engaged productively in income-generating activities; the rate of transformation of our economies towards more inclusivity and competitiveness.

Moving from talk to action

First, diplomacy needs to embrace a paradigm shift in narrative. We must divest from projecting climate action as a liability towards projecting investment opportunities. The core driver of Africa’s vulnerability is the continent’s low socio-economic base. While climate change is global, the poor remain disproportionately vulnerable to its effects because they lack the resources to afford alternative goods and services to buffer against the worst of the changing climate effects.

Currently, with the droughts that are underway in the horn of Africa, pastoralists have already lost over $300million in wasted and dead livestock. If these at-risk communities had better purchasing power, they would have minimized the loss of assets and capital through insurance, for example. With climate change set to exacerbate these extreme events, it is a matter of uttermost urgency that the paradigm of solutions creates real socio-economic opportunities for all. We must focus on how climate action can be delivered as an investment capable of financial dividends & socio-economic returns while mitigating pollution and ecological degradation.?

?Second, tap opportunities presented by the informal sector and their structures for delivery. Africa’s economic participation comprises up to 80% of informal sector players. This critical constituency has hitherto not featured in climate and environmental action mainstream. This is an opportunity for climate action that has so far remained untapped. For example, while mainly being informal, the charcoal industry in Africa is responsible for adding over $20billion into the continent’s economies.

Third, tap youth as solutions providers. Africa has been credited as being at the cusp of actualizing a demographic dividend for a long time. This narrative draws from the understanding that up to 60% of the continent’s population is youthful. But we all know one cardinal truth – that there can never be a dividend without first investing. We must ask what kind of investment these youth need to be the dividend that powers a climate-resilient & competitive Africa? They need a 3-fold investment – skills retooling, inspiration, and a dose of self-belief.

Across Africa, the mainstream narrative paints young people from a disadvantaged position of need. They are presented as needing jobs instead of potential job creators. They are presented as needing opportunities instead of opportunity creators. Such narratives only serve to relegate youth further into dependency. We need to ensure we push the message for countries to prioritize targeted enablers to more youth-driven enterprises in the climate action arena. Enablers such as offering tax breaks to youth-driven enterprises in their infantry stage or targeted curriculum changes that align theoretical education to solutions gaps in society, especially among the informal sector, will go a long way. Your efforts should prioritize collaborations that promote these dimensions to ensure young people become sources of solutions in Africa.

“Crawling on your hands and knees has never prevented any person from walking upright”.This African proverb is a timely reminder that progress is best achieved when those perceived as weak work alongside those perceived as vital. Let’s walk with one another as we lift those from the bottom of the pyramid through our actions.

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