The science is clear: We need action urgently

The evidence has been growing but now it’s beyond doubt: Climate change needs to be a major priority for African leaders. Africans are mostly suffering the devastating impacts of the climate crisis — be it Cyclone Idai, frequent and intense droughts and floods, locust swarms or the ever more unbearable heat. But the recent report from the lead authority on climate science starkly laid out the terrifying reality.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that, without drastic emission cuts, we can expect ever more extreme weather, increasing temperatures and rising sea levels. They said the world will see global heating breach the guardrail of 1.5 degrees Celcius above pre-industrial levels in the next 10-20 years. This figure was a hard-fought victory by African countries when the world’s nations met to hammer out the Paris Agreement in 2015.

The reason leaders from Africa and other vulnerable nations fought so hard for this 1.5O C target was because it is their people — us — who are going to suffer the most if fossil fuels continue to be burned and climate change gets even worse.

Although Africans have caused almost none of the problem, our actions can have a huge impact on whether we pull back from the precipice or plunge over the edge. African nations are on the cusp of sweeping development and growing energy use across the continent. If that development is driven by polluting fossil fuels, the consequences will be unbearable. But if we can show global leadership and a way out, then we can steer the world back on track to a safe and prosperous future for all.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unflinchingly described the report as a “code red for humanity” that “must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet”. 

Clean renewable energy

If African leaders are to protect their people, they must put climate action at the top of their political agenda. Far too many African countries are trying to exploit their fossil fuel reserves and politicians to build oil pipelines and coal plants. This madness is like setting fire to their house. And it’s unnecessary. 

Africa is blessed with more clean, renewable energy than anywhere else. Carbon Tracker Initiative estimations show that the theoretical potential for renewables exceed the projected global energy needs for 2050 by a factor 100 or more. It said: “Africa has a massive 39 per cent of global potential and could become a renewables superpower”.

Africa may be behind others in its development journey but this gives us the Late Adopters Advantage. We are in the position to learn from the trials and errors of the pioneers and benefit from the latest technology.

We can leapfrog the dirty energy of the past and jump to progress. It’s our best way to improve the lives of Africans, by ushering in a era of clean, renewable energy and demonstrating that there’s an alternative to destruction of fossil fuels.

Africa’s moment on the global stage has come and we need our politicians to seize it. 

Mr Adow is founder and director of Power Shift Africa. [email protected]. @mohadow