The science of climate change in Africa: impacts and adaptation - Grantham Discussion Paper 1

Author: Professor Gordon Conway
Published: October 2009

The first Grantham Discssion paper highlights the issue of climate change in the African context calling for more research into the global drivers of African climate and into the detailed consequences at local levels.

Overview

Attempting to understand the effects of climate change on Africa is fraught with difficulties. While some things are known and relatively well understood, there is still great uncertainty about the key climatic processes and their consequences. There is also much that is simply unknown. In this report I try to explain what the science tells us and what the implications for policy and action are.

Contents

1. Executive summary
2. Introduction
3. Global drivers
4. Need for information
5. What we do know
6. The impacts
7. The processes of adaptation
8. Conclusions 
9. References