Africa's opportunity in taming a warming world

Climate activists stage a protest to demand a phase-out of fossil fuels during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on November 15, 2024. [AFP]

The World Meteorological Organisation's State of the Climate 2024 Update dropped it like thunderclap. The period between 2015 and 2024 could be the warmest decade ever recorded, as global temperatures surged to 1.54C from January to September 2024, above pre-industrial levels.

For Africa, this means a continuation of extreme weather events that rendered vulnerable communities poorer, sicker, and with stagnating economies. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been warning that "climate catastrophe is hammering health, widening inequalities, and rocking foundations of peace", and there is abundant evidence in Africa.