World leaders will gather at UN headquarters in New York City on Earth Day, April 22, to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, including representatives from at least 40 African nations.
African nations that have committed their intent to sign the accord in New York are Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
The list of planned African signatories is missing 14 nations, notably Nigeria which had previously pledged its support, though it is still possible that it, and others, may come through.
The continent is under heavy threat because of the potential disasters climate change can bring about. A Pew Research Poll revealed Africans to be more concerned about the threat of climate change than the threat of Daesh (ISIS) terrorists. Mark Pabst wrote in the December 2015 issue of Petroleum Africa that there is a difference between ordinary citizens in the developed and the developing world when it comes to concerns about climate change. “In Nigeria 65% of respondents were very concerned about climate change, compared to a mere 36% who were very concerned about ISIS, despite the fact that Nigeria’s home grown Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The number of respondents very concerned about climate change was even higher in Ghana (71%) and Uganda (74%). Pew speculated that the reason for Africans’ outsized concern regarding climate change is that the region is particularly vulnerable to changes in global weather patterns. That was certainly the case in 2015, with Nigeria suffering from seasonal rains that started earlier than usual and were heavier than normal, Somalia dealing with deadly flooding, and parts of Ethiopia and Southern Africa wilting under the effects of severe drought,” he wrote.
Attending the ceremony on behalf of Uganda is Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda. Commenting on the event, Rugunda said Uganda is keen to pay a role in combatting climate change. “Uganda is pleased to be part of this historic global action when we begin to take practical steps on the Paris Agreement. We are committed to continue playing our role in the efforts to combat the adverse effects of climate change, the most pressing challenge of our time.” Rugunda will also speak at a high level forum while in New York organized by the UN Special Advisor on Africa, the Government of Sweden and the African Union.
Also attending the ceremony is Zimbabwe’s leader Robert Mugabe whose country suffered a record-breaking heatwave last year that melted road surfaces and killed significant numbers of livestock due to heat stress.