AMCEN publication Addressing Climate Change Challenges in Africa: A Practical Guide towards Sustainable Development

The guidebook has synthesized relevant material from IPCC, UN reports and other documentation on emerging issues on environment, climate change and development. It is written in a style suitable for policymakers and practitioners and provides guidance and practical advice on how to address climate change issues in the development and implementation of actions leading to sustainable development. The Guidebook is largely self-contained and stand alone, but guides users to relevant materials in the form of links and annexes.

The Guidebook aims to translate available climate science analysis and current international climate policies into practical implementation in Africa in the context of sustainable development. In this regard the guidebook focuses on analysis of potential climate change impacts in key sectors in Africa
and appropriate adaptation and mitigation options. It informs on matters related to governance, technological, financial and capacity building needs and opportunities on the continent with relevance to sustainable development.  It provides information that has been synthesized and integrated from relevant IPCC and UN reports and other documentation on emerging issues on environment, climate change and development. It provides guidance and practical advice on how to address climate change issues in the development and implementation of actions leading to sustainable development. The Guidebook is self-contained and stands alone, but provides guidance to intended users to other relevant materials in the form of links and annexes.

The primary audiences for the Guidebook are policymakers, decision makers, practitioners from public and private sector, Civil Society Organizations, environment and climate change negotiators and experts. However, it is recognized that others will also make use of the report. The contents of the Guidebook include:

• Climate and climate change science from an African perspective.
• Impacts of climate change on systems and key sectors and their implication on sustainable development in Africa, elaborating on the links between climate change and sustainable development. Discussions will include case-studies. Impacts of different climate scenarios are discussed and presented under each sector.
• Suggested actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change; highlighting existing tools, methodologies and literature available to both assess the African and national situations in relation to adaptation and mitigation and furthermore to assist practitioners identify appropriate actions in relation to adapting to climate change and mitigating further contributions, where feasible, in the context of low carbon growth.
• Capacity building, technological and financial requirements to undertake the suggested mitigation and adaptation actions
• Guidelines on the sources of financing particularly under the UNFCCC process
• Case studies on climate change mitigation and adaptation, on the green economy studies.

The Guidebook lays the groundwork in Africa for subsequent case studies of current actionable recommendations on climate change, covering both adaptation and mitigation which will enable the continent to achieve its full potential on adaptation and transition to green economy. It is an example of regional cooperation in Africa at its best. About 30 African scientists including those already engaged in  the current work under Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC, policy makers and climate change negotiators participated in the writing, compilation and review, volunteering their time and expertise. We would like to thank them for their tremendous contribution.