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Germany must bring African nations into its G7 ‘climate club’

(Reuters, 10 Feb 2022) The entire continent of Africa, home to more than 1.2 billion people, has contributed a mere 2.73% of global cumulative emissions. In comparison, Germany, a country of less than 85 million inhabitants, has contributed 4%.

Nevertheless, Africa is facing the brunt of the climate emergency. The rates of temperature increase and sea-level rise are higher in Africa than the global average, according to a report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

In 2020, deadly floods across the Sahel region compounded the socio-economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Climate-related disasters pushed the number of people affected by food insecurity up by 40%, and are the single leading sources of displacement.

Some African countries are already spending up to 9% of their GDP on measures to adapt to the climate crisis, according to a study published by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. The study notes that Africa’s spending is disproportionately high compared to its small contribution to global emissions and is also significantly higher than international resources available to the continent.

Africa’s investment, however, is a drop in the bucket of $30-50 billion needed per year by 2030, according to IMF estimates.

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Reuters, 10 Feb 2022: Germany must bring African nations into its G7 ‘climate club’