How will COP27 address Africa's climate challenges?

2022-11-06 1

The international conference on climate change COP 27 opens this weekend in Egypt. It's the first time since 2016 that the summit is happening on African soil.
And it's opportunity for the continent to address urgent issues. For example, according to some estimates, Africa loses between 7 to 15 billion dollars a year due to climate change, despite emitting less than 4% of global emissions.
By comparison, industrialized countries like the US, Canada, China, Japan and large parts of Western Europe, have contributed about 50 percent of planet-warming greenhouse gases over the past 100 years. As a result, African countries now see more extreme weather.
While some parts of Africa suffer severe droughts, other parts are experiencing heavy and frequent rainfalls, as is currently happening in Nigeria.
A small town in the Democratic Republic of Congo is also dealing with overflows from Lake Tanganyika - one of the world's largest lakes.
The fishing communities were already suffering from high water temperatures, killing fish. Now, the rising water levels and mudslides are further devastating the community.