Regional response to climate change and management: an analysis of Africa’s capacity

Abstract

Purpose The mainstream climate change community has primarily concerned itself with mitigation and adaptation strategies, both of which require monitoring and prediction. These four inter-connected response actions (mitigation, adaptation, monitoring and prediction) constitute the main strategies for managing climate change. This paper aims to weigh in on policies and societal coordination for effective management of the earth’s climate with respect to these four elements in Africa because of its socioeconomic peculiarities. Design/methodology/approach The Delphi experts’ method backed by questionnaires was used to obtain relevant data for the study. The questionnaires were distributed to professionals dealing with issues related to climate change response and sustainability in various parts of the world, with a focus on Africa. Findings With respect to the strategies that are most needed for effective climate change actions in Africa, government’s policies, activities and decisions rank highest at 1.20 with a p-value of < 0.001, and financing is next at 0.93, mitigation is 0.83, prediction is 0.76 and adaptation is 0.68 (p = 0.048), at the 5 per cent cutoff. Also, for the most appropriate approaches to managing climate change across Africa, regional efforts are at least 8 times more effective than country-wide approaches, followed by continental efforts at 6.51 times, international cooperation at 3.99 times and inaction at 0.00 times. Originality/value The paper concludes that a holistic climate change management approach is important in Africa to contain the impacts of climate change in the continent.