Welcome to the December 2018 edition of the Future Climate for Africa newsletter

News in Brief

What the latest IPCC assessment on global warming means for southern Africa

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report on global warming of 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels underscores the urgent need for countries like Botswana and Namibia, situated in climate change “hotspots” (being hot, dry and water-stressed) to prepare and adapt to local warming and drying that will be greater than the global average. Prof. Mark New and collaborators from the African Climate and Development Initiative summarise projected trends and possible impacts for Botswana and Namibia in this article.

Recent disruption to electricity supply in eastern and southern Africa has highlighted the challenges of chronic electricity scarcity. To increase capacity, both regions have a preference for hydropower. Most of the planned new plants will be dependent on areas with similar rainfall patterns and thus multiple plants may experience climate-related disruption concurrently, with considerable impacts for socioeconomic development. This policy brief, produced by UMFULA, explains the increased risk of concurrent climate-related disruption to hydropower and provides policy recommendations for overcoming the challenges. More information on this study can be found here.

WASCAL and AMMA-2050 set roadmap to activate science-policy links in West Africa

In November, members of the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) and the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis 2050 (AMMA-2050) met to develop a roadmap to strengthen linkages between researchers and policymakers in West Africa. Discussions focused on different knowledge-exchange approaches to bridge the science-policy divide, as well as strengthening resilience to climate-related risks within the disaster risk reduction and agricultural sectors across West Africa. Read more about the event here.

Linking climate change, urban sanitation and informality at Africa Water Week

Future Climate for Africa hosted a session on “Inclusive and sustainable urban water, sanitation and drainage services under climate change – lessons from African cities“ at the 7th Africa Water Week. The session drew together the latest research findings with the lived experiences of flooding and sanitation in African urban contexts, including Kisumu (Kenya), Kampala (Uganda), Lusaka (Zambia), and eThekwini (South Africa). Recordings of all presentations are available on the FCFA website.

Participation of African experts in IPCC review gets a boost

The historically low participation of African experts (0.5-2%) in the review of IPCC assessment reports has seen a boost in the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, with 50 reviewers  (16% of total reviewers) registered to the IPCC under an African country. Half of them had also registered for the FCFA micro e-learning course to raise awareness and support interested African climate experts to get involved in the IPCC review process.

FCFA completes climate risk screening tool for Rwanda’s Green Fund, FONERWA

SouthSouthNorth has completed a climate risk screening tool for Rwanda’s Green Fund, FONERWA. The tool will assist FONERWA staff, expert reviewers and project developers to identify areas where climate risks and risk mitigation measures need to receive more attention within proposals. FONERWA is at the forefront of investing in agricultural projects and continues to address climate change issues through adaptation and mitigation projects. The risk screening tool will enable fund managers, expert reviewers and project developers to work together to integrate climate information into project development and implementation.

Climate Information for public health action

Policy-makers are increasingly concerned about the impact of climate variability and change on the health of vulnerable populations. Variations and trends in climatic factors and extreme weather events impact many health outcomes, including malaria, heat stress and undernutrition. A new book on “Climate Information for Public Health Action”, edited by Madeleine Thompson and Simon Mason of International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), explores why, when and how climate information can be and should be incorporated into health decision-making.

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