News

Africa’s carbon budget - Nature.com

Nature.com · last updated

Africa’s carbon budget | Nature Climate Change

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$29.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$209.00 per year

only $17.42 per issue

Buy this article

- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Royle, S. Africa’s carbon budget. Nat. Clim. Chang. 14, 427 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02014-1

-
Published:
-
Issue Date:
-
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02014-1

Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics

State of Play

Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:

  • Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
  • Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
  • Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
  • Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. 

On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”

More informationabout Climate economics