Climate Change: The Multifaceted Crisis of Health, Poverty, Hunger, Economy, Security, Inequality, and Injustice

Picture a majestic redwood forest, where each tree stands tall and strong, supporting one another as they collectively form a vast ecosystem. The individual trees in this forest represent different aspects of our world, such as health, poverty, hunger, economics, security, and equality. Climate change is the invisible force that threatens to uproot these trees, destabilizing the foundation of the forest and potentially leading to its collapse. Our collective responsibility is to ensure that we nurture and protect the forest of humanity, so it can continue to flourish for generations to come.

Climate change is an all-encompassing crisis that interconnects every facet of human life. It is the ultimate test of our ability to adapt, grow, and come together as a global community.

Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it's a health issue, a poverty issue, a hunger issue, an economic issue, a security issue, and an issue of inequality and injustice

First and foremost, climate change is a health issue.

Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and air pollution are increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. For example, an analysis of 2121 public health events recorded in the African region between 2001 and 2021 concluded that 56% were climate-related. There has been a 25% increase in climate-linked emergencies between 2011 and 2021. These health risks disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations, particularly children, the elderly, and those living in low-income communities. One of the most accessible ways to enhance the health resilience of communities is improved nutrition to build natural immunity. To this end, accessible climate solutions stand as potentially transformational solutions in building resilient health under the changing climate.

For example, prioritizing nature-based approaches to growing our food, known as Ecosystems Based Adaptation approaches (EbA), enhances yields with up to 128% increases under the changing climate and also results in more nutritious food with more immune-boosting compounds than conventionally produced food. This is a very crucial aspect considering a majority in Africa, up to 60% of the population in some countries, derives nutritional supplementation from food rather than medical supplements. Furthermore, the risk of foodborne diseases, such as fungi, mold, and aflatoxin attacks on stored food, increases with increasingly variable weather. For this, climate solutions of solar dryers stand out as critical solutions known to effectively dehydrate food and reduce the risk of aflatoxin by up to 54%.

Climate change also increases dependence on agrochemicals, leading to health risks. For example, in some African countries, there is an over 40% chance that food samples contain traces of up to 14 banned pesticides, with residue concentrations exceeding safe limits. The leaching of these chemicals increases the risk of health risks such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where Africa has the highest incidents globally. Using nature solutions – such as biofertilizers and biopesticides, reduces reliance on these agrochemicals, lowering disease risks.  

Prioritizing incentives, supporting skills retooling and affordable capital for enterprises engaged in the food sector to prioritize nature-based approaches will go a long way to unlock these benefits for the majority.

Moreover, climate change is a poverty issue.

As natural resources become scarcer, agricultural productivity declines, and weather patterns become more unpredictable, the poor are the most vulnerable to these impacts. The loss of livelihoods and displacement caused by climate change can exacerbate existing inequalities and deepen the divide between the haves and have-nots. From now on, climate change is projected will push up to a 40million more people into extreme poverty by 2030 – just seven years from now. Africa can address these challenges by leveraging climate solutions to build resilience in the most inclusive sector of the continent – agriculture. Accordingly, while over 60% of the continent’s population is engaged in agriculture, the continent loses 30-50% of all the food that it produces. This translates to up to $48 billion in lost revenue. To cover deficits, up to $43 billion is expended on imports. This is to say that the continent loses up to $90 billion each year in opportunities in its food systems. Embracing simple, clean energy solutions, like solar dryers, to enable dehydration of food, increase shelf-life and develop additional product lines has been shown capable of increasing incomes by up to 30 times while mitigating up to 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions that an equivalent non-solar solution would otherwise generate.

Similarly, climate change is a hunger issue.

As droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events disrupt food production and distribution, the number of people suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity is expected to rise. For example, it is estimated that up to 80% of unpredictable cereal harvests in Africa’s SAHEL are because of climate variability. Food security declines by 5–20% with each flood or drought in Africa, in addition to a 1.4% reduction in food calories per year from key food security crops. Furthermore, climate change has reduced agricultural productivity growth by 34% since 1961 – the highest of any other region of the globe. Going forward, Africa is projected will only be fulfilling 13% of its food needs by 2050 because is climate change. Again, this burden falls heaviest on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. Nature-based solutions to produce food can ensure increasing yields of healthier food under the changing climate, and this is what the continent needs to focus on increasingly. 

Additionally, climate change is an economic issue.

The economic impacts of climate change are diverse, ranging from damage to infrastructure and property to reduced productivity and increased healthcare costs. Cumulatively, Africa is projected to face an up to 15% drop in its GDP because of climate change in just 7 years from today and an up to 75% shrinkage in incomes by 2100. Addressing these challenges requires a global commitment to transition towards sustainable economic practices and investment in green technologies. Prioritizing clean energy-powered value-added actions in the continent's food systems can potentially create a $1 trillion industry by 2030. It is estimated that if Africa focuses on building a competitive, low-carbon manufacturing sector, the region will lower its future emissions risk and generate an additional $200 million - $2 billion in yearly revenue by 2030 while creating up to 3.8 million jobs over the next 30 years.

Furthermore, bridging the continent's infrastructure gap using green solutions significantly lowers the risk of climate change-induced destruction.

Accordingly, implementing green infrastructure solutions to control flood water in cities – e.g., planting urban forests, rehabilitating wetlands, rehabilitating mangroves in coastal areas to act as storm breakers, etc.- has proven cost-effective. It is over six times cheaper and provides up to $1.5 billion in savings, much more effective than alternative grey infrastructure-engineered solutions. For example, after the 2019 floods in Mozambique caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth, Beira partly chose to rebuild through the green infrastructure route, choosing nature-based solutions to restore the Chiveve river capacity to mitigate floods. As a result of this intervention, the floodplain can now provide enhanced flood protection to 50,000 – 234,000 more people. In South Africa, the application of green infrastructure in Cape Town city yielded a flow of ecosystem services valued at over $ 280 million per annum, equating to 10%–25% of the total annual municipal budget. Going forward, the key is prioritizing incentives – such as tax breaks, trainings etc., to catalyze the growth of enterprises that will enhance the application of these green infrastructure solutions.  

 Furthermore, climate change is a security issue. As environmental conditions worsen, conflicts over resources and migration have started arising, which could increase political instability and potentially even violence. For example, studies indicate that a 1% increase in temperature leads to a 4.5% increase in civil wars in the same year and a 0.9% increase in the following year. This implies that by 2030, Africa could experience an up to 54% increase in armed conflict incidences because of the changing climate. As such, addressing climate change is a national and international security matter. Most of these conflicts are driven by climate-change-induced competition for resources. The aspects shared above serve to unlock income opportunities that will go a long way to lower the risk of climate change-induced strife that catalyzes conflict. 

Finally, climate change is an issue of inequality and injustice.

The impacts of climate change are not distributed evenly across the globe, and they disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations. For example, while Africa as a region is a minimal emitter, accounting for just about 2-3% of emissions, it stands out as disproportionately vulnerable because of a low socioeconomic base. The poor are disproportionately vulnerable because they lack the resources they need to afford the critical goods and services to enable them to buffer against the worst of the changing climate effects. Unequal access to socioeconomic opportunities and participation in economic growth compounds climate vulnerability. Therefore, addressing climate change must align with unlocking inclusive socioeconomic opportunities and driving the continent towards a just transition into the green economy. The aspects shared above serve to drive Africa towards this trajectory and, in this way, lower systemic inequalities and work towards a more equitable, just world for everyone.

Some universal policy dimensions that Africa can tap into towards addressing the above and unlocking the solutions include - skills retooling of youth to enable them to devise enterprises that tap into these solutions areas; fiscal incentives like lowering taxes on start-ups engaged in these solutions areas, as well as targeted cash guarantees that are timely to reduce the cost of credit to enterprises that engage in these climate solutions; tapping the informal sector, that engages up to 80% of the continents working population and directing incentives to enable them to create enterprises in climate action solutions areas as highlighted herein. This is how we ignite the climate solutions for impact.