Integrating Climate Resilience into Plans Crucial for Africa’s Dev’t

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Addis  Ababa  October  31/2019 Integrating climate resilience into development plans ensures returns on investment in today’s and tomorrow’s climate.

This, according to ECA, requires robust data, tools and capacity, yielding a resilience dividend to attract investment in closing Africa’s gaps in infrastructure, energy, agriculture and other important sectors.

This was disclosed during a workshop organized by ECA in collaboration with partners to formulate actionable strategies for climate resilient reconstruction of infrastructure post devastating tropical Cyclone Idai in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

“There is need to invest in timely and quality climate information services (CIS) and climate-informed analytical frameworks for mainstreaming climate change into development planning, and build capacity of decision makers to use CIS in order to design and implement effective low-carbon climate-resilient development pathways,” said ECA’s Senior Environmental Officer Linus Mofor.

“We need to adapt our road, power, irrigation infrastructure and make them more climate-resilient to ensure performance and return on investment,” he added.

The Officer said Africa’s development agenda as set out in Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was seriously at risk from the adverse impacts of climate change.

“But climate change challenges can be turned into low-carbon climate resilient development opportunities that deliver transformative and equitable development outcomes on the continent,” he added.

ECA experts shared with participants about the Climate, Land, Energy and Water systems (CLEWs) approach to sustainable development goals and Africa Climate Policy Center (ACPC) aimed to have sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient development in Africa.

Mofor said the ACPC works to influence, strengthen and enable the transition to climate-resilient development in Africa through responsive policies, plans and programs towards transformed economies, healthy ecosystems and human wellbeing.

ACPC’s Yosef Amha on his part shared with participants about the Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) Program which aims to improve the generation, uptake and use of weather and climate information across Africa.

Building collaboration between global, regional and national Meteorological Services; modernizing national Met services and strengthening service delivery; supporting improved generation and use of CIS; intellectual leadership in climate science; and strengthening African regional strategies are among key outputs of WISER.

“There are numerous but fragmented initiatives which seek to support the production and uptake of CIS on the continent but they are not coordinated. We need to address this. Also our policy and legislative environment does not provide sufficient incentives for the uptake and use of CIS,” Yosef said.

He said the continent lacks strategies for CIS communication that is produced from numerous initiatives and interventions with weak collaborative research platform for co-designing, co-resourcing and co-producing user-driven climate information and services.

WISER and other ECA programs seek to address these challenges, Yosef added.

The workshop was attended by over 100 participants, including representatives from the three countries, other SADC countries, the SADC Climate Services Centre, Regional Economic Communities, regional and international partners, including the UN family.

Ethiopian News Agency
2023