According to recent research, GDP growth rate of African countries are likely to fall by up to 64 per cent by the end of the century, “even if the world succeeds in limiting global heating to 1.5C.”
The study, which was commissioned by Christian Aid, has established that “burning fossil fuels at the current rate will have a huge impact on the finances of African countries.”
According to the report, “the average hit to GDP per capita could be as much as 34 per cent whereas the effect on GDP growth will lead to an average 20per cent reduction in rates by 2050 and a huge 64 per cent on average by 2100.”
African countries account for 15 per cent of the world’s population “but contribute less than four per cent of the carbon dioxide heating the planet, in contrast to 27per cent from China, 15 per cent from the US and 17 per cent from the EU.”
However,” it is the continent that is most affected by catastrophic climatic changes such as rising sea level and melting glaciers, as well as increasingly erratic and destructive extreme weather events such as drought, wildfires, floods and heatwaves.”
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Under current climate policies, the study says, “the GDP growth of eight countries – Sudan, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, and Nigeria – could be reduced by as much as 75per cent. The worst hit nations generate less than 0.43 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per person, in contrast to the US and Canada generating 14 and Saudi Arabia 18 tonnes per person.”
Marina Andrijevic, an economist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna and a study co-author said that: “This analysis shows the huge drag that climate change will have on the economic development of Africa, and these numbers might be conservative estimates.”
