Analysts say Africa's stability is key to fighting climate change

ASSILAH - Africa’s political and economic stability is key to tackling food insecurity, fighting climate change and stemming migration, say analysts from the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS).

The Assilah Forum held a conference in collaboration with the PCNSa conference titled ,“The geopolitical disintegration, climate, migration and food security: The New South and its relations with Europe.”

Analyst Hamza M’jahed said dialogue between Europe and Africa on climate change contains about a lot of incomprehension and misunderstanding.
“Africa has always been on the sidelines of energy and climate plans at the global level. In 2021, Africa was responsible for 3% global CO2 emissions and the European Union with 7 to 8%,” he said.

M’jahed said that the energy transition is currently at the centre of European political and public concerns regarding climate change is not among the interests of Africa.

“The African continent’s main concern is development, resilience, adaptation to climate change and access to energy. There is also this desire to see the countries, which have been responsible for CO2, assume their responsibility towards the environment,” said Majhed.

He noted that is that for Europe the question of climate is not a question of saving it but rather a power issue, adding that the EU is now accelerating its investment in renewable energy in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has exacerbated a rise of energy prices.

M’jahed said the relation between Europe and Africa in terms of decarbonisation is asymmetric because several African governments are unable to set out a public policy that can accompany international engagements to combat climate change.

“With the recurrence of coups d’état in Africa, are these countries capable of implementing decarbonisation strategies?,” he asked, citing the example of Niger, which is has uranium but 80% of its population does not have electricity.

M’jahed said that political stability in Africa is crucial in order to implement sound policies to tackle climate change

He highlighted another obstacle to decarbonisation which is Africa’s dependence on international funds.

“International investors are reluctant to invest in Africa because they think that return on investment is very risky,” he said, adding that green technologies, whose licences are mainly owned by China, Europe, and the US, which hinder the transfer of technology to Africa.

Migration

Analyst Amal El Ouassif said there really isn’t a corpus of studies and research about climate migration.

“We have to say to climate change is today one of the factors that is really changing people’s daily life and force many to quit their homes,” said El Ouassif.

She said that “we are living tough years of drought” that have never been seen before.

According to her research carried out in Morocco’s southern region of Souss and Senegal, El Ouassif concluded that migration was rather related to the working conditions, earnings and governments’ economic decisions.

In its Country Climate and Development Report presented to the Moroccan government last year, the World Bank predicted that climate change could lead to the migration of up to 1.9 million people from rural to urban areas by 2050.

The effects of climate change are increasingly present in Morocco, where water scarcity, drought, and floods have become growing issues. Climate change seriously disrupts the water cycle, as portrayed by frequent and intense droughts and floods, as well as growing water scarcity, said the report.

El Ouassif called on Morocco to create the means and provide the population with mechanisms in order to combat the effects of climate change and hence significantly stem migration.

Food insecurity

Analyst Ahmed Ouhnini said that the main cause of food insecurity in Africa in the untenable level of debt that makes many African countries more vulnerable besides the agricultural models.

He said the rise of the US dollar and interest rates worsens indebted countries’ finances.

“We notice that some African countries favour cash crop farming such as cotton and cocoa which are destined for export but neglect local people’s food needs,” said Ouhnini.

He explained that the war in Ukraine has had a bad impact on food security in the world, and Africa in particular and that the COVID-19 pandemic was an accelerator of famine.