Nigerian students’ climate summit focuses on tech-based solutions - VOA Africa
Nigerian students’ climate summit focuses on tech-based solutions
Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is the continent least able to cope with the negative impacts of climate change. Experts say the continent is warming faster than the rest of the world, impacting food security, causing displacement, and worsening conflict. But an initiative in Nigeria is bringing students together to create technology solutions to climate change problems. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
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Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”