Africa contributes only four percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, yet it is among the most vulnerable continents to climate change and its devastating consequences. Across the continent, climate-related threats are strongly visible and ubiquitous, including sea level rise, rainfall variability and unpredictability, droughts, floods, and cyclones.
Fragile and conflict-affected regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The erosion of natural capital due to climate change is jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions who are dependent on natural resources for sustenance. In light of this, climate change increases the risk of livelihood loss, displacement and migration, competition over scarce natural resources, and the exacerbation of social and gender inequalities.
Accordingly, it is imperative to acquire a better understanding of climate-related threats and their associated security and development consequences. Governments and other stakeholders – on all levels – should act in a proactive and preventive manner to advance integrated and inclusive climate policy and programming for sustaining peace in Africa.
Against this backdrop, CCCPA’s CSD Program aims to strengthen the capacities of government officials and regional organizations across Africa to assess and respond to climate change and its associated security and development impacts in a holistic and integrated manner, while grounding analysis and response in context specificity and national ownership.
Additionally, CCCPA aims to leverage its convening power to generate contextualized understanding of how climate change affects development and security dynamics, and shed light on the challenges and opportunities for advancing integrated responses to climate-related threats in Africa.
