In a report, the institution recalls the importance of “rapid, resilient and inclusive” growth as “better form of adaptation to climate change”.
Le Monde
In a report published Monday, September 19, the World Bank urged Sahel countries to speed up structural reforms to diversify their economies, in order to limit the impact of climate change. “Climate change accentuates tensions in the countries of the Sahel. The region is one of the most vulnerable in the world to extreme droughts, floods, heat waves and other impacts related to climate change”, warns the report, which estimates that the region could experience an increase in temperatures of 2 ° C by 2040.
The international institution adds that by 2050, Niger’s annual GDP could drop by 11.9 % and that of Burkina Faso by 6.8 %, according to low precipitation pessimistic scenarios. But the report, which shows that the financing needs of the five Sahelian countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina, Chad, Mauritania) in terms of climate action “amounts to more than 30 billion dollars”, assures that the damage caused by Climate change can be significantly reduced.
“This report provides a roadmap to help countries accelerate reforms and investments to diversify their economies and make them more resilient and more inclusive,” explains Clara de Sousa, Director of World Bank operations For Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad. Among its recommendations, the World Bank recalls the importance of “rapid, resilient and inclusive” economic growth as “better form of adaptation to climate change”.
a “resilient” agriculture
“The more a country and its citizens are prosperous, the more the government, companies and households have resources to invest in adaptation technologies for climate change”, develops the text. “A country that makes its agriculture resilient and diversifies its economy will be better prepared to cope with climatic shocks,” adds the institution, which also calls for the implementation of a better social protection system in these countries.
To make these investments, the World Bank – which ensures that it has provided a record level of financing in the last three years to the Sahelian countries – recommends in particular to call on the private sector. “The costs of inaction are much higher than those of action,” insists the report, which recalls that the five Sahelian countries contribute to less than 1 % of greenhouse gas emissions.