Africa loses 5% of GDP to climate change – expert

Despite representing just 17 percent of the world’s population and emitting just 4 percent of global pollution, Africa stands as the most affected continent in terms of climate change, losing on average 5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A senior environmental expert from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Linus Mofor, noted that “African economies are losing on average 5 percent of GDP because of climate change, increasing up to 15 percent in some countries.”

He spoke during a virtual meeting on ‘partnerships for tools and capacities to integrate climate resilience in investments for the SDGs,’ organised on the margins of the Eighth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD8).

Other panellists included representatives from the African Union, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group, who all noted that in the absence of global concerted action on keeping warming at below 1.5 degrees, African countries must be supported with the tools and capacities needed to integrate climate resilience in the huge investments needed to close development gaps.

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Mofor explained that African countries have shown “great leadership” on climate action, stating, “all but two African countries have ratified the Paris Agreement with ambitious NDCs requiring up to USD 3 trillion for implementation.”

He underscored the need for significant investments to be made on African youth SMEs in order to turn them into successful and impactful global businesses that address climate change issues.

Professor Ken Strzepek, Industrial Economics Inc, while introducing the Africa Climate Resilient Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) tools and capacity development program emphasised that ”the issue on how to provide Africa with adequate tools and capacities to build an integral climate resilient Africa should be addressed with actions.”

AFRI-RES is a partnership between the Africa Union, African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the World Bank Group that was established with support from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF).

It seeks to set up an Africa-based centre of technical competence and excellence to assist governments, planners and private developers in Africa to integrate climate change in project planning and design, thereby attracting funding from both development and climate finance sources.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.