The African Science

Africa Science
Covering Science with an African eye |Sep-Oct 2018
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Industrial emissions: Science have confirmed the emissions are increasing global warmth
African climate experts are calling for government
regulated greenhouse gas emissions to halt atmospheric
temperature rise posing serious threats to
livelihoods and natural assets on the continent.
The experts concurred that the future of African
communities was at stake as global warming will
trigger recurrent droughts, food shortages, new epidemics
and disruption to ecosystems.
Yacob Mulugetta, an Ethiopian scholar and lead
author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) special report on global warming,
said that rising temperatures will reverse socioeconomic
gains African countries have made in
recent times.
“Global temperatures rise that has been influenced
by human activities is having profound consequences
in Africa where extreme weather events have occurred
with bigger intensity,” said Mulugetta.
“Actionable targets to limit greenhouse gas emissions
are inevitable in order to enhance climate resilience
for African communities,” he added.
Mulugetta said that the international community
has a moral obligation to support climate change mitigation
and adaptation in Africa through deployment
of green technologies and awareness creation.
He warned that rising temperatures will adversely
affect power generation, tourism, infrastructure development
and human settlements in the World’s
second largest continent.
“Limiting the atmospheric temperatures below
1.5 degrees Celsius is not an option if we are to save
communities, nature and livelihoods in vulnerable
African countries,” Mulugetta said.
Mark Majodina, Regional Representative for the
World Meteorological Organization, said action on
atmospheric warming should be embedded in Africa’s
development agenda.
“Basic scientific evidence reveal that Africa is
warming rapidly hence worsening the vulnerability
of communities to extreme weather events. Putting a
cap on carbon emissions is key to enhance the resilience
of populations,” said Majodina.
African countries should be at the center of global
conversations on innovative ways to halt warming
of the planet that has escalated against a backdrop
of consumption of fossil fuels to power industrial
growth.
Prof. Laban Ogallo, a Kenyan Climate Scientist
and scholar advised that less costly but effective options
including reforestation, clean manufacturing,
protection of watersheds and adoption of renewable
energy sources, had the potential of accelerating low
carbon development in Africa.
Rising temperatures will
reverse socio-economic
gains African countries
have made in recent times.