In June 2020, heavy rain, high winds, and thunderstorms pummeled southern Côte d'Ivoire, including the commercial capital, Abidjan.
Major roads were submerged, and cars swept away by the deluge. Residents in low-lying homes clambered onto their rooftops in search of safety. In the north, a landslide swept away homes and railway tracks leaving at least 13 people dead and many missing. Outside of the city, farmers in key cocoa-growing regions feared for their crops.
While heavy rainfall can be an expected event in Abidjan in the midst of the wet season, this was unusual. In 48 hours, several neighbourhoods experienced their highest recorded rainfall over the past 45 years.
CONSEQUENCES OF A CHANGING CLIMATE
In addition to more inconsistent rainfall, Côte d'Ivoire is seeing other changes in line with climate change, including warmer average temperatures and increasing sea levels.
According to the National Meteorological Directorate, over the past five decades, the country has already seen an average temperature increase of 0.5°C.
Meanwhile, the annual dry season is getting longer. The West African Monsoon appears to be shifting to later in the season with rainfalls more intense and erratic when they do arrive.
Along the country’s 566-km coastline, the sea level is rising faster than the global average. More than two-thirds of the Ivorian coastline is already affected by erosion.
“Global warming is more visible in the villages, where our parents can no longer predict the climate. If it rains too much, there are floods.” - Mohamed Sanogo, Coordinator of the National Climate Change Program (PNCC)
Climate change science indicates more is coming. Droughts are expected to become more common and be more prolonged, particularly in the country’s semi-arid northern savannah region, while communities along the coast face increased coastal flooding.
On the health front, warmer temperatures and rainfall variability are projected to increase the prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, while also exacerbating malnutrition and diarrhoeal diseases. Heat-related mortality is estimated to increase by five-fold by 2080.
Decades of development gains are at threat. The World Bank found that climate change could plunge 2% to 6% more households into extreme poverty by 2030.
REACHING FOR A MORE CLIMATE-RESILIENT FUTURE
Recognizing the need to adapt and move away from fossil fuels, the Côte d'Ivoire government has begun pursuing a low-carbon sustainable development pathway.
The West African nation’s ambitions are reflected in its updated climate goals (Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC), submitted to the UNFCCC in May 2022, including the aim of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30.41% by 2030 relative to business-as-usual, or 98.95% (virtually net zero) with international support.
To get there, the government is looking to ramp up renewable energy sources, increase energy efficiency, transform agricultural production, strengthen forestry management, and improve waste management.
A comprehensive National Adaptation Plan is underway (expected to be completed this year), while adaptation is being integrated across development planning.
At the same time, the government is raising public awareness around climate change and ownership of its solutions, engaging youth organizations and artists, including singers, comedians and slam poets. At a concert organized for World Environment Day in Abidjan, during which the artists presented their creations, Nash, a member of the group, explained: “Our goal is to go to remote places across the country to raise awareness.”
Meanwhile, the private sector is being enticed to invest in climate projects.
The government has also been taking steps to strengthen transparency for enhanced climate action, with a measurement, reporting, and verification system under design, expected to be completed this year.
A LOCALIZED APPROACH
Just as the national government is advancing its agenda, some regions are taking a localized approach to climate action, delivering their own vision for climate-resilient, sustainable development.
The region of Bélier has emerged as a leader, with the Regional Council banking on climate action as a means to create wealth and jobs, including for young people, to care for the environment and to increase clean energy access.
Together, with the involvement of authorities, local communities, civil society organizations, and the private sector, the Council has developed the country’s first regional climate plan. It is a comprehensive, integrated, participatory plan targeted at reducing emissions while supporting livelihoods and biodiversity in a gender-responsive manner.
By sector, the plan clearly details adaptation and mitigation actions to be implemented by a range of actors, as well as describing the plan for monitoring and evaluation, and financing.
It is expected that implementation of the plan will improve the adaptive capacity of around 50% of the region’s population and see a decrease in GHG emissions of 21% by 2030, compared to business-as-usual.
As well as addressing local needs, the plan contributes to the realization of national climate goals by helping to lay the groundwork for greater ambition.
It is a living document, with stakeholders invited to meet every 2-5 years to take stock of the plan and enrich it.
Implementation – estimated to cost around 22 million USD for the first five years – will be led by the Bélier Regional Council and partly financed by this Council and the Municipal Councils themselves, and will also involve a process of mobilizing resources from climate funds and technical and financial partners at national and international meetings such as the ‘Finance Your Cities’ edition 2022 in Abidjan, and COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
In addition, it is planned to build public-private partnerships, in a dynamic of local economic development that generates green jobs.
The plan is an important step in integrating climate change into local authorities’ development policies and raising local people’s awareness of climate change opportunities.
CONTEMPLATING A DIFFERENT FUTURE
With the impacts of climate change accelerating worldwide, Côte d'Ivoire faces an urgent set of challenges: How to adapt the economy? How to phase out fossil fuels? How to ensure communities are prepared and resilient in the face of more unpredictable and extreme weather and rising sea levels?
There is no doubt it will be an uphill battle. Yet there is hope. From the Presidency to the regions, from the urban boardroom to the village garden, the country is bursting with the drive, innovation, pragmatism, and foresight to overcome the challenges.
With action at all levels, the West African nation will realize its goals for a low-carbon sustainable future.
Succeeding together, building a climate-resilient nation.
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