Roundup: African officials meet over climate resilient infrastructure

The development of climate resilient infrastructure is now under the scrutiny of African officials as the continent foresees tremendous potential in infrastructure needs over the next decade.

African officials opened on Wednesday a two-day meeting to discuss ways of addressing challenges in the development of climate resilient infrastructure in Africa.

Dubbed the 2nd edition of Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit (ACRIS II), the meeting kicked off in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The summit, which is the second in its kind, aims at addressing the challenge and assisting AU member states in preparing for and implementing measures related to resilient infrastructure in their respective countries as well as developing and strengthening local, regional and international cooperation on the issues.

According to Andrew Dowell, CEO of GRV Global, co-organizer of the event, close to 100 billion U.S. dollars will be required to meet Africa's infrastructure needs over the next decade.

Much of the needed investment is in long-lived infrastructure, such as power stations, roads, reservoirs and irrigation canals, which are vulnerable to changes in climate patters, said the CEO.

Failure to integrate climate change into planning and design of the infrastructure is said to lead to major negative development impacts, such as crop losses, traffic disruptions, reduced power production and higher energy costs.

Dowell underlined the need to have careful planning and designing to overcome the effects of climate change and to end poverty on the continent.

Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, reiterated that climate change has increasingly been affecting key sectors, including infrastructure development in Africa.

"Africa is currently at the stage of building its infrastructure both at the national and regional levels, all are geared towards achieving sustainable future for Arica, she said.

"However, there is growing evidence that climate change poses significant risks to global infrastructure in the future," she said.

The commissioner underlined the need for African countries to mainstream climate change into development policies.

"Addressing the climate change risks and impacts in Africa requires mainstreaming climate change into development policies, which will provide opportunities for designing climate resilient and a low carbon development," she said.

"In the infrastructure sector, climate proofing of current and future systems will provide sustainable and cost effective options in the long run."

"For Africa, we are already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change in key sectors, including but limited to agriculture and food security, water supply, health care, energy and regional security by diversity and many more," said the official.

"In addition, vital infrastructure including power systems, roads, rail and communications buildings and others are increasingly becoming vulnerable to weather events," she added.

The commissioner underlined the importance for Africa to develop and implement coherent strategies and frameworks to ensure investments in infrastructure that are not only economical viable but also climate proof.

Such strategies include integrating climate change policies into planning and implementation process; generating knowledge and information which will be crucial to address uncertainties; promoting innovative and climate financing initiatives as well as mobilizing private sector participation; enhancing technical capacity in member states and regional institutions; and creating awareness among policy makers and other stakeholders especially the private sector, said the commissioner.

The two-day event includes extensive presentations and panel discussions on the different aspects of climate resilience. Endit