African perspective on climate risks

The document argues that Africa's vulnerability to climate change is underestimated because transboundary and cascading risks—where impacts in one country affect another via trade, finance, and shared ecosystems—are often overlooked. It suggests that National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) should be used to identify these external risks and the potential for domestic adaptation to create vulnerabilities elsewhere. The brief calls for increased international cooperation and the integration of climate risk into security, trade, and development policies to prevent adaptation efforts from creating 'winners and losers' across the continent.

• Africa's exposure to climate change is greater than previously recognized when accounting for transboundary and cascading risks, which are transmitted through shared ecosystems, natural resources, and flows of people, finance, and trade.
• National adaptation plans (NAPs) can be used to assess risks originating from abroad and determine if a country's own adaptation actions create vulnerabilities for other nations or contribute to the global public good.
• Managing transboundary climate risks requires a redefinition of adaptation and greater international cooperation, including the integration of these risks into regional policies concerning development, trade, and security.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2023). African perspective on climate risks. https://www.sei.org/publications/african-perspective-on-climate-risks/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. African perspective on climate risks. 2023. https://www.sei.org/publications/african-perspective-on-climate-risks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=African perspective on climate risks |date=22 August 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/african-perspective-on-climate-risks/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2023african, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{African perspective on climate risks}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/african-perspective-on-climate-risks/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }