Guest Opinion: Navigating Africa's urban climate paradox

By Maimunah Mohd Sharif

Despite contributing negligible amounts of carbon emissions, Africa bears one of the heaviest burdens when it comes to the impact of climate change.

A strong, united, multilateral response to this inequity has become an emerging consensus, reaffirmed by convening the Africa Climate Summit in early September and the ongoing Africa Climate Week.

In a world fixated on emissions, Africa's paradox is stark: It emits little yet suffers profoundly. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) recognizes the urban-climate connection, as cities are at the frontline of this struggle, with the urban poor hit the hardest.

Population increases in urban areas, especially in Africa, are making cities hotspots of misery that suffer from flash floods, droughts and heatwaves. The recent devastation from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and Mozambique is a wake-up call -- over 2 million affected, 600 lives lost, and 140 million U.S. dollars in damage, mostly in urban areas. Astonishingly, despite being home to over 600 million people, African cities receive the least attention in global climate discourse.

CITIES: THE MAIN BATTLEFIELD

At COP27 in Egypt, the first-ever ministerial meeting on urbanization and climate change acknowledged the critical role of cities in reducing emissions. We flipped the script by putting cities forward as the solution and not only the villain.

There should be increasing awareness that the climate battle will be won or lost in cities. Cities need to adapt to the effects of climate change. At the same time, they need to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. The best place to do this will be in Africa.

Additionally, the UN Habitat Assembly, held in June 2023 in Nairobi, passed key resolutions reaffirming UN-Habitat's role as the focal point for sustainable urbanization and human settlements. These resolutions highlight the interlinkages between urbanization and climate change. They call upon us to use technology to create smart cities to improve living standards. They underscore the importance of multilevel climate action and the pivotal role of cities and local governments in implementing the Paris Agreement and the National Determined Contributions (NDCs).

This echoes the African Union's recognition that climate change is central to the continent's development. Although African countries are beginning to incorporate urban climate resilience into their NDCs, these political commitments must be translated into action on the ground.

   STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS & MULTILEVEL ACTION

Partnerships, like the collaboration between UN-Habitat, UNDP and the African Union Commission, highlight the path to resilient urban development and pave the way to effectively implement AU's Africa Urban Resilience Programme. In addition, Kenya is leading an initiative on Building Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor to support the resilience perspective for the more than 54 percent of the urban population living in informal settlements in Africa.

Such efforts -- and others being implemented by a wider community of the United Nations, academic and civil society partners -- are supporting the implementation of SDG 11 with a focus on climate action in cities and contributing to achieving SDG 13.

   FASTER LOCAL ACTION NEEDED

Amid Africa's urban climate paradox, a vital challenge looms: the need for localized climate data. This scarcity hampers evidence-based planning, a linchpin of effective climate action. Informed choices rely on precise, context-specific data. Overcoming this obstacle requires collaborative efforts to enhance data collection, monitoring and modeling.

Creating resilient cities requires proactive long-term planning, weaving climate priorities into the urban fabric. Climate justice, green energy and innovative financing must be at the core. Yet, along with a shortage of skilled planners, the financing gaps persist.

Projections suggest that the loss and damage due to climate change could cost Africa between 289.2 to 440.5 billion U.S. dollars from 2022 to 2030.

Fulfilling NDCs requires an estimated 234 to 250 billion U.S. dollars annually until 2030. Inaction is not an option. Creative financing, empowering local communities and addressing climate data gaps are essential.

   SOLUTIONS ATTAINABLE

Moving forward, we must enhance coordination across all levels of government and support inclusive climate action that transforms cities and improves lives.

The enhanced role of local government in climate action means investing more to build capacities at the local level. This is the only way to ensure we can implement national strategies and solutions for adaptation and low-carbon development.

By undertaking integrated planning that leaves no one behind, embracing ecosystem-based approaches and mobilizing climate finance, we can build thriving urban spaces and human settlements in Africa and protect our shared future.

As UN-Habitat, our commitment is unwavering -- we support African countries and cities in taking concrete climate action, providing technical assistance to develop and implement local climate plans and resilience strategies. We will continue to assist countries to access climate funds and promote multilevel inclusive climate governance. We are committed to scaling support to the Least Developing Countries and Small Islands Developing States.

Collaborative, data-driven strategies are attractive to investors and donors. Fostering innovation, embracing nature-based solutions and integrating technology into climate action are the keys to success. By building partnerships, engaging civil society and accessing climate funds, we can turn political commitments into tangible change.

As of now, we have mobilized 36 million U.S. dollars, a drop in the ocean. What is needed is a seismic shift to help make cities more resilient in this age of multiple crises. The time has come for the Paris Agreement to resonate in Africa's cities. It is time for local governments to play their part in preparing for climate action.

The journey forward is collective. My hope for the Africa Climate Summit centers on collective progress. Africa's urban destiny rests on it.

Editor's note: Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif is UN under-secretary-general and the executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.