Africa Climate Week - Checking the Pulse of Climate Change Action

People across Africa are convening this week to take the pulse of climate action, explore possibilities for action and showcase ambitious solutions.

They will highlight  all that can be done in the region to slow rising temperatures and adapt to climate consequences that are already in motion. Leading up to pivotal global climate talks at the UN's COP26 in Glasgow from November 1 to November 12, 2021, attention and action are more critical than ever.

Investments of some U.S.$280 billion will be needed to combat the effects of climate change in 35 cities in South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia by 2050, new research has shown.

With its urban population exploding 20-fold between 1950 and 2015, Africa is the fastest urbanising continent and also the hardest hit by climate change.

A further 950 million people are expected to live in African cities by 2050, which experts say will make efficient urban planning hugely problematic, reports Radio France Internationale.

Data analysts across the continent have collected data on agriculture, land and the environment and for the first time we have a full picture of land use in Africa. It has found more forests and more arable lands than were previously detected, and has revealed 7 billion trees outside forests for the first time, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).