climate change - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Climate change is the biggest human health risk, says Africa’s disease boss

CLIMATE change is the biggest threat to human health in Africa and the rest of the world, the head of the continent's public health agency said. Mitigating that risk was top of his agenda, Jean Kaseya, the director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters as he headed to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, which begins on Thursday. The measures needed, Kaseya said, would include funding to help countries in Africa trying to contain outbreaks of disease. In an online interview, he said the threat of "a climate change-related disease becoming a pandemic and coming…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Faith communities are rallying to check climate change – their size and influence counts

ENVIRONMENT

ACCORDING to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), more than 80% of the global population is motivated by faith or spirituality. Faced with the triple planetary crises of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, what role can faith communities play in saving the planet? RACHEL MASH, Research Associate of the University of Pretoria, Faculty of Theology and Religion, Department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies, University of Pretoria In a recent publication, we looked at the role of two faith-based organisations – the Green Anglicans movement, which is present in 13 African countries, and UNEP’s Faith for Earth Initiative, a…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Climate adaptation funds are not reaching frontline communities: what needs to be done about it

ENVIRONMENT

COMMUNITIES around the world face increasingly severe and frequent impacts from climate change. They are on the “frontlines” of droughts, flooding, desertification and sea level rise. International climate finance is supposed to help. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world’s wealthiest countries pledged US$50 billion annually to support climate adaptation among those “particularly vulnerable” to climate change. Climate adaptation is the adjustments humans make to reduce exposure to climate risk. KATHERINE BROWNE, Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute Eight years later, it is clear that this money is failing to reach vulnerable “frontline communities”, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, Mozambique, Zimbabwe,…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Climate change and farming: economists warn more needs to be done to adapt in sub-Saharan Africa

ENVIRONMENT

SUB-SAHARAN African countries strongly rely on the agricultural and forestry sectors. Agriculture contributes up to 60% of some countries’ gross domestic product. But the sector is highly vulnerable to climate change because it relies heavily on climatic factors. This vulnerability is particularly marked in the region because of its slow rate of technological advancement. ABEEB BABATUNDE OMOTOSO, Postdoctoral research associate, North-West University ABIODUN OLUSOLA OMOTAYO, Senior lecturer/researcher, North-West University As agricultural economists we carried out a review of the literature on the climate change challenge for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. We explored the distribution of various climatic factors (like rainfall,…

Nov

2023

By MBALI HLOPHE

Managing climate change is our collective responsibility

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MANIFESTATIONS of climate change, such as global temperature increases, have been observed for many decades. The effects of climate change are being felt in South Africa, the rest of the continent and the world. As with most parts of the world, Gauteng can expect to become warmer as global atmospheric and sea surface temperatures rise, with regional variation among the different municipal areas. In addition to Gauteng being vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Gauteng also represents a significant portion of the national carbon footprint. A revised carbon footprint for Gauteng indicates that the province contributes 33 per cent…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya could lose up to 7.25% of GDP to climate change, World Bank says

BUSINESS

KENYA could lose up to 7.25% of economic output by 2050 if it does not take strong action to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects, the World Bank said. Like other so-called frontier economies, the East African nation has been suffering from the effects of global heating, including prolonged droughts, in recent years. "By 2050, inaction against climate change could result in a decline in real GDP of 3.61–7.25 percent," the World Bank said in a new publication called Kenya Country Climate and Development Report. "The impact of climate change on the economy could be partly buffered by…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Giraffes could go extinct – the 5 biggest threats they face

ENVIRONMENT

GIRAFFES are the world’s tallest mammals and an African icon, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. Giraffe populations have declined by 40% in the last 30 years, and there are now fewer than 70,000 mature individuals left in the wild. What are the causes of this alarming decline, and what can be done to protect these gentle giants? DEREK E. LEE, Associate Research Professor of Biology, Penn State The five biggest threats to giraffes are habitat loss, insufficient law enforcement, ecological changes, climate change, and lack of awareness. Below, I will tell you about these threats and what is…

Nov

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s banking giants bet on green finance

ENVIRONMENT

COMMERCIAL banks across Africa, both domestic and foreign, are stepping up their game to forge innovative green financing mechanisms that will bolster climate change mitigation and support the transition towards cleaner energy sources. Three South African financial institutions—Standard Bank, Liberty Group and Stanlib Bank—have joined forces to launch a monumental US$1 billion fund aimed at facilitating the shift towards clean energy. Reports on Afrik21 indicate the trio aims to raise the sum "in a few years." A statement from Stanlib details how Liberty and Standard Bank will provide US$160 million (R3 billion) in seed assets to be managed by Stanlib.…

Oct

2023

By SUBRATA NAG CHOUDHURY and JATINDRA DASH

Himalayan lake flooding in India kills 18, nearly 100 missing

WORLD

AT least 18 people were killed and nearly 100 were missing after heavy rains caused a Himalayan glacial lake in northeast India to burst its banks, the worst such disaster in the region in more than 50 years. Lhonak Lake in Sikkim state overflowed on Wednesday, causing major flooding that authorities said had impacted the lives of 22,000 people. It is the latest deadly weather event in South Asia's mountains being blamed on climate change. The weather department said Sikkim received 101 mm (4 inches) of rain in the first five days of October, more than double normal levels, unleashing…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Climate change journalism in South Africa misses the mark by ignoring people’s daily experiences

ENVIRONMENT

SOUTH Africa’s media houses rely too heavily on events like conferences, climate disasters and the release of scientific papers in their reporting on climate change. That’s a problem: it creates the potential for day-to-day issues related to climate change, like ongoing mitigation and adaptation efforts, to go unreported. That’s one of the key findings of a study I recently conducted into how the country’s media cover the climate crisis. ENOCK SITHOLE, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand I also identified major shortcomings in overall communication on the climate crisis by key stakeholders in South Africa – policymakers, captains of industry, scientists…