Africa and the effects of climate change
Heatwaves, Floods, droughts and heatwaves are the main difficulties climate change poses in Africa. According to the World Meteorological Organization, WMO.int, these are made worst by the lack of resources to promote better adaptation practices. WMO contends that warmer climate has been steadily increasing over many decades and countries “like Mali, Morocco, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda reported their warmest year on record” in 2023, and in that same year heatwaves caused temperature in Tunis, Tunisia’s main city, to rise to 49 degrees Celsius, (120.20 degrees Fahrenheit) and in Agadir, a city in south west Morocco, to rise to 50.4 degrees Celsius, (122.72 degrees Fahrenheit).
The article makes mention of the severe droughts experienced by Algeria, Nigeria, Zambia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo and others, also in 2023. During that period, it claims, “Zambia faced its worst drought in the last 40 years, affecting eight out of ten provinces and approximately six million people.” The article demonstrates that in Africa climate change impacts infrastructure, water safety and availability, farming, public health and the general social and economic life of citizens.
According to the article , in the middle to late months of 2023 there were many deaths and displacements of citizens in Libya, Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia due to massive floods. Later in the year several other countries shared the same fate, but an all-Africa early warning system for impending climate disasters, like floods, was put in place in late 2023 to help reduce property destruction and save as much lives as possible. The need for this was extremely urgent, because according WMO.int, “between 1970 and 2021 Africa accounted for 35% of weather, climate and water related fatalities yet only 40% of the African population had access to early warning systems.”
Climate related problems continued in Africa in 2024. According to Worldweatherattribution.org, heavy rainfall and floods occurred in August and September in Sudan, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon and “in total more than 2000 people lost their lives and millions were displaced.’
Africa has organized itself to find an African (continental) response to climate change. Beginning in September 2023 the African Climate Summit, (ACS1), was held in Nairobi, Kenya, the second summit, (ACS2), was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 8 to 10, 2025. The conference is the brainchild of the African Union and it was attended by politicians, the private sector and other stakeholders from across the continent. It’s an effort to harness the know-how, experience and expertise of locals to advocate for and find climate solutions that they consider uniquely appropriate for the continent as a whole. There were international attendees to the summits, but their roles were minimal.
Several agreements were reached at the Addis Ababa summit. Dialogue.earth states that “Addis Ababa announced a total of USD 150 billion in homegrown financial commitments. This comprises a USD 50 billion annual fund for African climate solutions, and a USD 100 billion pledge from African financial institutions to finance a green industrial revolution.” Among other things, it states that the summit “frames the climate crisis as fundamentally an issue of economic justice. It places a staggering USD 3 trillion price tag on achieving Africa’s climate goals by 2030. Central to Africa’s common position for the upcoming COP30 in Brazil is a demand for developed nations to finally honour the obligations they made to finance the continent’s energy transition and adaptation to climate change.”
From the standpoint of renewable energy, Africa has vast resources but they are underutilized, as observed by the South African Institute of International Affairs, Saiia.org.za. It claims that “about 600 million people lack access to electricity and 970 million people lack access to clean cooking energy,” and according to google search the estimated 2024 population of Africa is 1.515 billion, assuming some readers may be interested in comparing those figures. Impediments to more renewable energy production are considered to be the lack of necessary investments and too much dependence on foreign technology that is not geared toward the continent’s renewable energy production expansion.
Saiia.org.za states that “Africa accounts for just 1.6% of global installed renewable energy capacity…hydro power, solar and wind accounted for the highest of the renewable mix in 2023,” and goes on to argue that “Africa hosts 60% of global solar resources, yet currently less than 1% of this potential has been exploited.”
In terms of electric vehicles (EV’s) Saiia argues that their role in transportation in Africa is marginal but more recent indications are that the industry is now gaining some ground. Africa Business Insider, Africa.businessinsider.com, contends that there is some room for optimism in the EV industry in Africa. It argues that the market is growing and becoming competitive. It claims the EV market is dominated by China, Europe and US brands, but Burkina Faso is now making its own national model and Botswana has also launched its own brand jointly with Chinese firms. The article states that “Africa’s EV market (is) projected to reach $15.8 billion in 2024 and $25.4 billion in 2025.”