Climate change and environmental assessments: Issues in an African perspective

Abstract

The present study discusses the potential for integrating climate change issues into environmental assessments (EAs) of development actions, with emphasis on sub-Sahara Africa. The study is motivated by the fact that future climate change could give significant adverse impacts on the natural and socio-economic environment in Africa. Yet, global change issues – including climate change – have to date largely been overlooked in the process of improving EA procedures and methodologies. The study argues that even though emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in Africa are negligible today, it is highly relevant to include this aspect in the planning of long-term development strategies. The study discusses potential areas of conflicts and synergies between climate change and development goals. The general conclusion emerging from the study is that EA per se could be an appropriate tool for addressing climate change issues, while there are still several obstacles to its practical implementation. Four priority areas are suggested for further work: (1) Environmental accounting, (2) harmonisation and standard-setting, (3) implementation, and (4) risk management.