Does it Matter that COP27 is in Africa?

An interesting enquiry for your class ahead of this year’s international climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, might be ‘Does it matter that this year’s COP is in Africa?’.

To answer this question, students could brainstorm what information or rather what other questions they might ask, and need to answer, to reach an informed decision. For example, ‘Where will the impact of climate change be felt most keenly?’. The Interactive IPPC Atlas provides regional predictions as well a global overview of projected patterns of temperature change, amongst other variables.

Perhaps of greater relevance is the question: ‘Where is the climate crisis having an impact today?’. Why not use the Show Your Stripes website to investigate past changes in climate in Africa, or more specifically Egypt? (See above.) Or dig into the multiple causes of East Africa’s current famine (including what is being called the worst drought in East Africa for 40 years). This is a brief about the 2022 famine from the British Red Cross.

‘Where will most people live in the future?’ could be a linked enquiry question. Taking a look at this Our World in Data chart (below) will help students understand the large proportion of the world’s population that will live on the African continent by 2050.

‘Who is responsible for the crisis?’ is another key focus. You might look for an answer from the World Mapper team, whose warped world map is re-sized according to absolute CO2 emissions from each territory. Statisticians have calculated that Africa is responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, globally, yet it’s on the frontline of climate impacts. At this point, the topic of climate reparation may start a class debate! Read the Guardian's report on global protests calling for ‘climate reparations and justice’ last month, here.

‘Who is and is not represented at the COP27 talks?’ is a more subtle, but nonetheless key focus. At COP26, in Glasgow, the issue of the lack of representation of environmental activists was raised, given the high cost of attending the talks. Further, as recently as 2020, at high-profile international talks in Davos, Switzerland, there was clear evidence that the international media aren’t ready to recognise the role of activists from the Global South. Catch up on the way Vanessa Nakate of Uganda was cropped out of group shots with Greta Thunberg here.

By the end of the lesson, students might conclude that ‘geography matters’! This COP will be significant; not only because according to climate science time is running out for decisive action, but also because of its site and situation in North Africa. It will throw the spotlight on some of the people most impacted by this global crisis, but least implicated in its cause.

Finally there’s the killer question: ‘Where does the solution to the climate crisis lie?’. Beyond the somewhat glib, politician’s answer of ‘All of us’, your class might note that solar power may yet become the new number one power source worldwide, with the African continent being a prime site for such energy production. Read this recent World Economic Forum article about solar in Africa here.