To help guide the FCFA programme, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CKDN) was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to undertake a scoping phase.
The focus of the FCFA is to advance scientific knowledge, understanding and prediction of African climate variability and change on five to 40 year timescales, together with support for integration of science into longer-term decision making leading to improved climate risk management and the protection of lives and livelihoods.
Infrastructure is a priority area for integration of climate science into decision making. Infrastructure which is being planned now may be operational in a future climate significantly different to the historical climate commonly used for planning and design. Existing and planned infrastructure assets may also not be able to cope sufficiently with current levels of climate variability, with climate change exacerbating future risks. This is especially true of long-lived infrastructure
This paper focuses on port infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates the climate change risks and the current use of climate science decision making.
