Climate Facts: Africa’s climate change adaptation costs to rise beyond coping capacity

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can make it difficult to digest. TheCable’s climate quick facts will help to demystify these climate concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

1. According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index, between 2000 and 2019, the direct result of over 11,000 extreme weather events caused more than 475,000 deaths globally and an incurred loss of $2.56 trillion.
2. The Global Commission on Adaptation states that restoring upland forests can help the world’s 534 largest cities regulate water flows and manage more extreme floods while saving an estimated $890 million each year.
3. Africa will need investments of over $3 trillion in climate change mitigation and adaptation by 2030 in order to implement its nationally determined contributions (NDCs), according to the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).
4. Sub-Saharan Africa has 95 percent of rain-fed agriculture globally, making it one of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
5. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the costs of climate change adaptation are expected to rise far beyond Africa’s coping capacity even if warming is kept Below 2°C.