Against the backdrop of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says its Regional Climate Strategy will be finalised and validated by all institutional stakeholders in the first half of 2022.
The regional body, in a statement, also said that it will support the implementation of the commitments made by its member states under the Paris Agreement.
ECOWAS said its climate strategy was developed through a participatory process through regular consultation with member states, other regional institutions, civil society and private sector actors.
The devastating effects of climate change such as severe droughts, floods, reduced agricultural yields, sea-level rise and other climate-related disasters are on the rise in Africa.
Climate change has contributed to a jump in food insecurity, mosquito-borne disease and mass displacement in the past decade.
Also, the rise in sea levels has led to unusual weather patterns such as Tropical Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in 2019.
Africa, it is understood, has been warming progressively since the start of the last century, and in the next five years, according to the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), northern and southern Africa are likely to get drier and hotter, while the Sahel region gets wetter.
‘To address this, ECOWAS already has several regional public policies that contribute to the fight against climate change in West Africa in a multisectoral and cross-cutting manner’, the ECOWAS statement read.
‘Because coordinated regional action has more impact than the addition of national policies alone, ECOWAS has been working throughout 2021 to develop a Regional Climate Strategy.
‘Built on existing policies, the Regional Climate Strategy will set out objectives for 2030 and 2050 for adaptation to the impacts of climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as an action plan for the region’s priority sectors in terms of development, such as agriculture, energy, forestry, water, and transport and infrastructure’.
A new study by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has found that children in the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau are the most at risk of experiencing the worst and most life-threatening effects of climate change.
‘Climate change has a strong impact on the West African region. Acting on climate change in a coordinated and ambitious manner means first and foremost protecting the populations and improving living conditions in the region in changing climatic conditions’, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, said.
‘It is also an opportunity to build a low-carbon development and an innovative economy. For all these reasons, climate action is a priority of the ECOWAS Commission and the Regional Climate Strategy currently being prepared will be the basis for regional climate action’.
Source: ECOWAS
Photo source: WFP
