In her address, CSE Director General Sunita Narain remarked: “Change is taking shape in Africa. Across the continent, countries are adopting policy measures and designing programmes to adapt to and mitigate climate change. From rolling out national strategies to achieve net-zero carbon emissions to harnessing indigenous knowledge to combat drought and extreme weather, every African nation now has adaptation programmes to showcase”
By TWV Team
The year 2024 was the warmest on record for Africa. Adding to this crisis, almost the entire ocean area surrounding the continent has been reeling under marine heatwaves, according to the annual State of Africa’s Environment report.
“The period between 2021 and 2025 has been the most devastating five-year stretch in terms of human toll from weather, climate and water-related disasters,” the report adds.
Researched and published by the New Delhi (India)-based fortnightly Down To Earth and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), and drawing on investigative reportage by African journalists across the continent, The State of Africa’s Environment 2025 covers subjects ranging from adaptation, carbon markets and climate debt, to migration, food security, water and health. The report was launched at a communicators’ and journalists’ briefing organised jointly by CSE and its African partners, the Alliance for Science-Ethiopia and the Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA), Kenya.
The report presents a comprehensive set of data and analysis. Climate-induced migration is highlighted as a major concern. By 2050, up to five per cent of Africa’s population – roughly 100 million people – could be forced to migrate due to climate change. “Africa, in fact, would have the highest rate of displacement or migration resulting from the impacts of climate change,” it notes.
Food insecurity is also looming large. Climate change, coupled with land degradation, is driving an 18 per cent decline in agricultural production. The report warns that cocoa production in West and Central Africa – which accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s supply – will be severely affected. If global temperatures rise by 2°C, up to half of the continent’s population could be at risk of undernourishment.
Health concerns are mounting as well. The report points out that the global burden of cholera has shifted to Africa, with a 125 per cent rise in reported cases in 2023 compared to the previous year. Malaria transmission also increased by 14 per cent during the same period.
Speaking at the launch, Professor Kassahun Tesfaye, Director General of the Bio and Emerging Technology Institute, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Government of Ethiopia, said:
“The data in this report, while alarming, also points the way forward. It shows that our greatest liability – our natural resources and land – is also our most powerful asset to build a sustainable bioeconomy. The solution lies not simply in attempting to mitigate a crisis we did not create, but in pioneering a new model of development altogether – that model is the African bioeconomy.”
Explaining the concept of ‘bioeconomy’, Professor Kassahun said: “This is an economic system that uses renewable biological resources to produce food, materials and energy. It is a circular economy where waste is not an endpoint but a new beginning. It is an economy that is inherently sustainable, regenerative and tailored to our continent’s strengths.”
In her address, CSE Director General Sunita Narain remarked: “Change is taking shape in Africa. Across the continent, countries are adopting policy measures and designing programmes to adapt to and mitigate climate change. From rolling out national strategies to achieve net-zero carbon emissions to harnessing indigenous knowledge to combat drought and extreme weather, every African nation now has adaptation programmes to showcase.”
UNESCO’s Dr Rita Bissoonauth, also addressing the gathering, said: “This report from CSE is more than a scientific assessment. It is a moral compass. It comes at a pivotal moment. Africa is on the frontline of a climate emergency it did not create. Estimated average direct economic losses amount to US\$1.18 billion annually in northern Africa and US$1.25 billion annually in sub-Saharan Africa. The message of the State of Africa’s Environment 2025 report is clear – the current trajectory is not sustainable.”
Highlighting Ethiopia’s national response, Nigussu Lema, Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Environment Protection Authority, said: “Ethiopia’s climate adaptation efforts focus on strengthening resilience through its National Adaptation Plan (NAP-ETH), which integrates adaptation into the country’s wider development strategies.”
