An Africa edition of the '2022 Climate Survey' conducted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) has found that 88% of African respondents believe climate change is already affecting their everyday life, while 61% believe that climate change and environmental damage have affected their income or source of livelihood.
The effects to income and livelihoods are typically a result of severe drought, rising sea levels or coastal erosion, or extreme weather events such as floods or hurricanes.
Seventy-six per cent of respondents would also like renewable energy to be prioritised.
The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects. Since 2018, it has conducted similar large-scale climate surveys across Europe, China and the US.
The results of the survey come at a critical moment for Africa, after the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties, where the mobilisation of resources for the mitigation of global warming and the adaptation to its effects, were at the heart of the debates with the decisive agreement reached on a new “loss and damage” fund for vulnerable countries hard hit by climatic disasters.
Fifty-seven per cent of African respondents say they, or people they know, have already taken some form of action to adapt to the impact of climate change. Some of these initiatives include investments in water-saving technologies to reduce the impact of drought and drain clearing in advance of flooding.
The EIB has operated in Africa since 1965. It has invested €59-billion in 52 African countries, supporting infrastructure projects, innovative firms and renewable energy schemes, in the public sector and private companies.
However, the EIB says Africa needs to increase its spending on combating climate change by several hundred billion euros a year.
EIB VP Ambroise Fayolle says the EIB has been supporting clean energy investments in Africa, such as wind power, hydropower and off-grid solutions, for many years.
“We stand ready to use our full range of advisory and financial instruments to support our partners on the ground to mitigate climate change, adapt to its already palpable, negative effects and ensure a just transition.”
The EIB has a long-established presence in Africa and provides support for numerous initiatives and projects, including in the areas of environmental protection and climate change, the digital economy and telecommunications, sustainable agriculture and food security, clean water and sanitation, clean and affordable energy, sustainable infrastructure, sustainable industrial development, urban development and education. It also lends for sustainable projects carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations.
It states that Africa is the part of the world most affected by climate change, although it contributes the least to the problem.
The continent faces an increased threat from extreme weather events and chronic climate change, which influence agricultural yields, food and water security, ecosystems, livelihoods, health, infrastructure and migration.
By damaging vital resources and increasing competition for natural resources, the bank says climate change is likely to increase poverty, inequality and unemployment.