By William Minter and Anita Wheeler
Washington, DC — On the eve of the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December, momentum for action still falls far short of that needed to avert catastrophe. Africa will suffer consequences out of all proportion to its contribution to global warming, which is primarily caused by greenhouse gas emissions from wealthy countries.
But Africa can also make significant contributions to mitigating (i.e. limiting) climate change. Stopping tropical deforestation is one of the most cost-effective means to slow the growth of greenhouse gases. Ending gas flaring in Africa’s oil-producing countries could reduce carbon emissions and, as a bonus, also provide cleaner electricity.
Environmental activists in Africa people like Nnimo Bassey in Nigeria, Wangari Maathai in Kenya, and Marc Ona Essangui in Gabon are thus also on the frontlines against global warming. The damage from gas flaring and deforestation shows up both on the ground and in satellite photographs on the Internet. Reversing the damage will require both local and global action.
Africa‘s Stake in Climate Change Action
In Africa, as around the world, awareness is growing that climate change is not a remote threat but an immediate danger causing more frequent “extreme weather conditions” of drought and flooding. Ice is melting at the poles and on Mount Kilimanjaro. The waters of Lake Chad are disappearing. Drought cycles in East Africa are becoming more unpredictable.
Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change, notes the International Panel on Climate Change. Factors such as dependence on rain-fed agriculture and the impact of warming on the spread of disease reinforce multiple preexisting stresses. Like AIDS, the threat is already here. The toll is rising. Even more damaging effects will play out over decades.
Yet global warming comes primarily from greenhouse gas emissions outside Africa. Much of Africa’s share, moreover, comes from extracting natural resources to be exported.
According to the latest estimates, the entire African continent was responsible for only 3.7% of the world’s annual CO2 emissions, compared to China with 21.5%, the United States with 20%, and the European Union with 14%. Comparing cumulative emissions, a better measure of environmental impact, Africa’s estimated 26.7 billion metric tons of emissions (1900-2004) were less than half the 55.1 billion tons from the United Kingdom, and only 8% of the 314.8 billion tons from the United States.
|
Africa, compared with selected countries |
% of world’s cumulative CO2 emissions. 1900-2004 |
% of world’s CO2 emissions, 2006 |
| Africa total |
2.5% |
3.7% |
| South Africa only |
1.2% |
1.5% |
| United States |
29.5% |
20.2% |
| China |
8.4% |
21.5% |
| Russia |
8.4% |
5.5% |
| Germany |
6.9% |
2.8% |
| United Kingdom |
5.2% |
2.0% |
| Japan |
4.0% |
4.6% |
| India |
2.4% |
5.3% |
| Canada |
2.2% |
1.9% |
| Mexico |
1.1% |
1.6% |
African countries have prepared a common position for Copenhagen, stressing strong targets for emissions reduction by developed countries and global responsibility to aid Africa in reducing emissions and adapting to change. But attention at the conference will center elsewhere. The United States and China are the two largest contributors to global warming, followed by Europe and emerging powers such as India, Brazil, and Russia. Africa’s leverage in the negotiations is limited.
Whatever is decided in global talks, the crucial test will be what happens on the ground. When it comes to Africa’s natural resources, the prospects for change depend squarely on African governments, on foreign companies and their home-country governments, and on the pressures that can be mobilized by national and international civil society.
Two sectors well illustrate the point: oil production with its by-product of gas flaring, and deforestation, the result both of local land-use pressures and the export of tropical woods.
Gas Flaring
When crude oil is extracted, it comes with natural gas which must be separated. If this gas is not captured for fuel, or reinjected into the earth, it is vented into the air or burned. Venting and flaring produce methane and CO2, both greenhouse gases. Gas flaring is one of the two largest sources of CO2 emissions in sub-Saharan Africa, second only to coal-fired power generation in South Africa.
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