Climate change to cost Africa 12% per capita GDP growth by 2100

By Ben Eguzozie

• Already lost 5–15% 1986–2015 vs 1% for US, EU

Africa, without strong climate change policies, could lose as much as 12 percent of its GDP by 2100 due to climate change-related impacts, depending on different scenarios, new projections by the African Development Bank (AfDB) have proved. This is compared with losses of less than one percent each for the United States and the European Union, and no more than five percent for China, the pan-African multilateral development financial institution said.

Already, the continent lost five percent to 15 percent  of its per capita GDP growth from 1986 to 2015.

This disclosure emerged ahead of the African Development Bank Group’s 2023 Annual Meetings slated to take place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh from 22 to 26 May. The event has the theme: “Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”.

Africa has an estimated GDP of $3.14 trillion nominal by 2023 or $8.86 trillion (PPP estimated.)

The meetings will offer the AfDB Group’s governors and global business people and investors the opportunity to share experiences of mobilising domestic and international private sector funds, including harnessing Africa’s natural capital to close the climate financing gap and advance the transition to green growth in Africa.

The gathering will also provide African governments a forum to discuss the nature and level of support they need from development partners, such as the AfDB Group, to achieve their climate ambitions.

10-year-old Kenyan-born Karen Wanjiru Kimani, a young African ambassador for the environment, said she hopes for “tangible outcomes” to boost climate action in Africa to emerge from the 2023 African Development Bank Annual Meetings.

Karen has called for policies that will encourage young people to participate in protecting the planet, including through climate change mitigation.

The Kenyan-born 10-year-old environmentalist said: “As future generations, it is important that we are not overlooked in some of the programmes or activities regarding protecting the planet. Our leaders must catch us young. After all, we will be the ones to gain or suffer tomorrow as a result of the policies and actions being implemented today.”

Karen, who has received many awards for her efforts to protect the environment, including through planting trees, was speaking ahead of the forthcoming African Development Bank Group’s 2023 Annual Meetings.

Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president, while addressing global leaders at the 1st Climate Change Adaptation Summit in Davos, Switzerland in 2021, said that Africa is losing between $7 billion and $15 billion annually from the vagaries of climate change.

 Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the loss could rise to $50 billion by 2040.

From the locust swarms devastating thousands of hectares of cropland in East Africa, perennial droughts and encroaching deserts that lay bare the vulnerability of the Sahel of Africa, scotching lives into misery and driving migration, to the inundation of coastal towns and villages, the continent is beleaguered on every side.